Wild ARMs
by Kimmae
Summary: Filgaia is threatened by the metal Demons of old once more, and the guardians, in their weakened state, call upon three heroes to help in the fight for their world. Novelization of Wild ARMs 1.
1. For Hire

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_I haven't even looked at the Wild ARMs fanfiction section, so I don't know if this had already been done. Therefore, I guarantee that I'm not copying anyone's ideas (at least, not intentionally. If something seems similar, let me know, and I will change things. I do everything in my power to stay original and respect others' originality). I couldn't help myself, though; I'm a sucker for novelizations. Enjoy._

_Note for this chapter: the Wiki for Wild ARMs suggests Rudy lived in Surf Village for several years, but I'm under the impression that Rudy passed through for only a short time. So I changed it for me :). I changed a few things for me, actually..._

_P.S. I promised myself I wouldn't post this until I was completely done, but I couldn't help myself! Besides, it might be a year or some before I'm done. No-one can wait that long!_

Wild ARMs

Kimmae

_Part One_

Chapter One: For Hire

Rudy Roughknight sat at the bar at the Adlehyde Inn, staring into his ale. The bar top was glistening with puddles of alcohol spilled by the old men flanking him on either side. They laughed hard over shared tales, clanking their mugs and cheering aloud, adding to the din of the merry state of the entire town. It was to the entire kingdom of Adlehyde, in fact—the princess was to return home from a far off academy that practiced magic, and a grand fair was planned in her honour. Everyone was elated, full of fervor and excitement; it did nothing but drive Rudy further down into his feeling of displacement and rejection.

_I'm not fit for anyone..._ he thought to himself, watching his ale ripple as the man to his left pounded the counter in his mirth. He'd arrived in Adlehyde an hour before because he had nowhere else to go. He didn't know what he was going to do. Then again, even after Mayor Pifer took him in several months ago, he felt stationed there, as if it were temporary, and he'd never feel like it was home. He was never close with the mayor and his wife, and it was evident the feelings were mutual once they asked him to leave town and never come back. That had been just that morning. They were frightened of him. Everyone in Surf was.

_He's a monster!... he uses the ARM!... don't come near us, stay back!_

It had been to save them, but it didn't matter to them after they saw the ARM. Rudy glanced to the long pouch that hung from his side, hiding his Hand Cannon, his ARM. It wasn't right for a human to use such a thing—they were an ancient item that were thought to be used by the old metal demons that roamed Filgaia, thought to have the power to destroy the planet. They were an omen. _He_ was an omen.

For the first time since he laid down the gella for the ale, Rudy lifted the mug to his lips, and took a sip. As soon as the amber liquid filled his mouth, he spit it back into the mug. Being a man of fifteen had left him with little experience with drinking alcohol. The old man to his right slapped him on the back, and a bit of ale sloshed from Rudy's mug onto the counter, joining the league of alcohol from the other pub patrons.

"Aye, it's a hardy brew, ain't it, lad?"

Rudy glanced sideways at the cheerful man, noticing his long white beard stained with booze and the gaping holes in his smile where his teeth used to be. The younger man offered his own quiet smile, giving a quick nod.

"I was nigh your age when I had me first sip," the old man continued, but he turned back to his friend on the opposite side, "and, oh, Lord, was the world a brighter place..."

Rudy turned back to the ale, staring into its depths. The way that old man spoke to him was how everyone saw him; just a fleeting moment, a few words exchanged with a passing stranger, nothing more than another young man that would have no personal interest in others' lives. Even though he was getting older, even though he was trying to form the hard outer shell against emotion that he knew each man should have, he couldn't deny that it still hurt being an outcast. He wished someone would look at him again and give him that warm smile that only friends shared. It had been so long since he had felt its worth...

Rudy was the first to hear the pub's doors burst forth. He looked toward the front to see a middle aged man in dusty work clothes running in between tables, muttering a few words to each man he crossed. One by one, each man stood, abandoning their ales and cheerful faces, donning the looks of worry and responsibility. Soon, the entire pub fell silent, and whispers circulated the room like a cold wind. Soon, every man stood and filed out of the pub. Rudy looked up to the old barmaid standing before him briefly, and she flashed him a look of worry and concern.

"Ye best put on your best fighting greaves, son," the old man to his right said, clasping his shoulder tightly. "Looks like a call to arms is in order!"

Rudy watched the old man rise from his seat, and follow his friend out of the pub.

"I hope everything is all right," the barmaid murmured. Rudy looked to her. "The creatures have been becoming more and more lately."

Rudy looked to the door again, watching the other men leave. Would he do it again? Would he stand to the occasion, while people asked for help, just to run the risk of being shut out once more?

"Don't do anything out of your control, young man," the woman warned, "you'll be of no help to anyone."

No help. Even his most powerful gift was his most damning. No help to anyone—especially himself.

Rudy stood from the stool, leaving a few gella on the counter for the barmaid, then left the inn.

A small crowd had gathered near the front gates, and Rudy moved closer to join them. There were quite a few men, young and old, gathered near the front, while more townsfolk formed a ring on the outside, standing on their tiptoes to try and see what was going on. Over the loud murmur of everyone's whispers and worries, Rudy could hear someone trying to call out over their heads. He strained his ears to listen to the voice, but it was simply too quiet from where he stood. As Rudy joined the edge of the crowd, he suddenly saw a woman hoisted up into the air. She had short black hair, accented with a grey streak, and an unusually pink frilly dress. Despite the mirage of her sweet disposition, Rudy could see the anger and frustration on her face, even from his distance. She cupped two small hands around her mouth, then cried: "LISTEN!"

The hum of voices came to a sudden stop, and all eyes turned their attention to the woman at the front. Her hands moved from her mouth and clasped onto her hips. "That's better," she called over the crowd, her voice strong and dependent, carrying effortlessly over the distance. "Now, you're all here either because you heard that we were in need of some helping hands, or simply because you heard a rumour about an attack in the mines to the north. If you're here for the former, stick around; there might be some gella in it for you!" Some men cheered in approval.

Rudy had absolutely no interest in monetary gain, only in a place to stay and a livelihood to adopt, and he did not want another opportunity to be shut out by yet another town, by more people. Then, Rudy looked around to all the men standing before him, and he was torn; he did not want to be exposed as an omen again, but he wanted to feel included, wanted to find comfort within others. He'd spent so long living in isolation amongst people. His feet shifted slightly, trying to decide whether or not to turn and walk away.

"The earthquake you all felt this morning hit my excavation team up in the ruins to the north, and we've had a few setbacks..."

Rudy shot his head away, looking to a nonspecific point on the ground. He'd been in the Berry Caves just that morning, helping a little boy get some herbs that would help his father heal, but when he plucked the Holy Berry, the cave shook violently. Rudy had no idea that the entire Adlehyde kingdom had felt the quake. He was ashamed to learn that he had disrupted many people's lives that morning.

"...Normally, we wouldn't have so much of a problem, but the fact of the matter is that most of my mercenaries were injured in the quake, and the workers can't hold off the creatures that have come alive there on their own. That's where all of you come in; but we don't need ill equipped fighters where we're going, you'll only slow—" she wobbled a bit, the shoulders in which she balanced upon apparently giving out slightly. She corrected herself, smacking at the person underneath her, then repeated, "—you'll only slow us down. You'll be organized into teams, and your pay will be split amongst that group. Hey, no complaining!" she yelled, pointing to a nearby man, "it's too dangerous for one man to go it alone! Groups will be necessary for the safety of others.

"I'll give you half an hour to ponder to yourself and gather supplies. After that, anyone still interested will group together by the town gates again. Then—whoa! Goddammit, watch what you're doing!—excuse me... then you'll be organized into teams. Once again, if you can't fight, stay out of it! Emma _out!_"

With that, she slipped from view, disappearing ungracefully as her foundation apparently wobbled once more. Men began to break off, eying each other like an animal might eye its opponent for a slab of marble meat. Rudy was an independent worker, and often defaulted to taking the lone route, but he did not understand why everyone insisted in working against each other, especially when it was most obviously in their favour to work together. Rudy didn't know much about the cave of which this "Emma" spoke, but he could tell that it would be dangerous. The Berry Cave near Surf was proof that Filgaia had become a dangerous world. The fact that Rudy could wield the ARM was the reality of it.

As the crowd left to gather supplies, Rudy stayed rooted, thinking things over. He had a fair amount of bullet clips (found within the dark corners of the Berry Cave, discarded thousands of years prior) and healing berries, and he had no need for more supplies. His only concern was trying to decide if he should stay in Adlehyde, or if he should aid the other fighters in battle. He knew he was the youngest man in that crowd, but the power he had to assist them... would he risk his acceptance among these people once more for their safety? Emma's call for help seemed to be minor, but the way the man had rushed around the pub, summoning others out to the front gates spoke of more severity than Emma had. Perhaps she just knew how to keep her cool, she knew how to convince others to follow her lead. Maybe Adlehyde needed someone else who could hold his own.

Rudy turned on his heel and headed for the weaponsmith. He decided that if he were to protect Adlehyde, he would do it protecting himself. If he were forced to use his ARM in battle, it would expose him again, raw and naked, and the townsfolk would be merciless upon him. If he as going to do this, he would do it donning a sword.

* * *

_She's probably talking about Lolithia's tomb... _Jack Van Burace thought to himself, folding his arms tightly over his chest, standing in front of the gates of Adlehyde as men bustled around him, preparing to gather supplies for Emma's mission. He still had some aches and bruises from the Temple of Memory that he'd raided the night previous, but he was used to bearing injuries. He'd grown accustomed to ignoring the pain. He'd grown accustomed to blocking out the past.

"Might as well join them, eh, Hanpan?" Jack questioned, opening his long duster slightly, peering into the inside breast pocket. A small rodent poked its head through, looking up at Jack with wise eyes as it twitched its nose.

"Sure, you might find what you're looking for," the wind mouse said in a high pitched, accusing voice, "but you heard what that Elw recording said in the Temple of Memory. If it is Lolithia's cave, or what have you, then we should take this a little more seriously, don't you think?"

"What, you my mother now?" Jack scolded, dropping the flap of his jacket. "Nah, we'll be _fine_. Besides, we might find _it_ there..."

"The _Power_," Hanpan squeaked, his voice muffled by the jacket, "hm, well, I doubt anything I say to stop you will get through your thick skull, so you might as well buy some food and supplies. We've only got half an hour."

"_Only_ half an hour," Jack mocked, heading for the town market square. "Come on, Hanpan, have more faith in me."

"Well, good luck beating that hoard of men to the shops," Hanpan quipped, "they all have the same idea you do, don't forget."

Jack shoved his hands into his pockets, smiling wickedly before he replied: "I _am_ a master of the _Fast Draw_."

"Your _Fast Draw_ is like an old man getting out of bed in the morning," Hanpan bit back, "now get a move on!"

"Alright, alright," Jack said, huffing. "Jeez, you're a pain in the butt sometimes..."

* * *

She stood there as men moved around her, dispersing after Emma's call for help had finished. Even a young woman standing amongst the ranks of grown men caught no-one's attention. Cecilia Adlehyde felt she couldn't get any more obvious for people to recognize her as their princess. All of those years in the Curan Abbey had changed her, she supposed. That, or everyone had truly forgotten who she was. Cecilia had certainly felt she had forgotten herself.

_Excavation site... I wonder what they're looking for?_

_Innocent One,_ a voice whispered. Cecilia tilted her head to the sound, although she knew it was only within her mind. She still wasn't used to hearing the Guardian Stoldark speak to her, but it did not frighten her as it did the day before. She wondered briefly how her mother must have felt when Guardians began to talk to her. _Innocent One, joining these warriors is in your fate, but know that it will be the turning point in your journey._

_My journey?_ Cecilia questioned, darting her eyes to the faces of passerby, trying to discern if they realized she was talking to herself, or if they somehow recognized the child in her that they used to adore.

_The journey of Life_ _that you follow, _Stoldark affirmed,_ as a stream follows the river back to the ocean. You have the power to turn from this day, but even if you do not, it will be the best and the worst decision of your life._

_I don't understand..._ Cecilia thought, almost pleadingly, _do you mean that I should join these men to the cave?_

_You are powerful beyond your comprehension, Innocent One, but only you can decide whether you will use that power._

Cecilia darted her eyes around the faces of the men that moved their way around her. They were all determined, arrogant, and quite possibly over confident. Cecilia smiled to herself, for she knew she contained the ability to cast magic, which was a talent which had become a rarity amongst the people of Filgaia. Indeed, amongst these men, she was a beacon of light.

_I have arrived home too early to see Father,_ Cecilia thought, _and I do find staying anonymous rather amusing... perhaps I will follow them to this cave to occupy my time._ Her smile broadened, as if the idea of going to fight off creatures to protect the men that worked for this Emma was simply another afternoon spent in a garden. There was something unbidden in the thought of outranking the men in a fight.

_But, Stoldark, this cave... why is it so important to my fate?_

_It all begins with Lolithia, Innocent One._

_Lolithia?_ Cecilia thought with earnest. _You mentioned that before. What does it mean to me?_

No reply. _Stoldark? _

He was gone. Cecilia sighed aloud. Stoldark did often disappear from her thoughts almost as quickly as he entered them. It was something she would have to grow accustomed to.

_'It all begins with Lolithia...' _Cecilia repeated. "I suppose I have no choice in the matter."

Cecilia pulled her traveling cloak closer to herself, then headed toward the market place. Who knew, perhaps there was a noteworthy magician amongst the stands who had a powerful spell to graph for her...

* * *

Rudy kept looking down to the sword at his side, watching it bounce against his leg as he walked. When he bought the blade (with the last of his savings), the weaponsmith offered him a sheath in which to carry it. However, the sheath could only fit onto his left leg, and it displaced the elongated sack at his side—the sack that held his ARM. The sword at his hip took the place of his identity, and Rudy was content that way. When he glanced back up at the gates, he could see that most of the men had returned, and Emma was coaxing a young man to lift her onto his shoulders again.

As he approached the group, he stood off to the side at the back, keeping his distance. He felt more shielded against them now, and he felt confident that he wouldn't rouse more terror and hatred in the hearts of more people. If he didn't use the arm, he would be accepted. Rudy just wasn't so sure how useful he would be with a sword in hand.

"Okay!" Emma called out over everyone's heads as soon as she staggered into view. The boy, whom Emma seemed to be sitting on, had to dance around a bit to find his footing, and Emma seemed to glide around restlessly in front of the crowd. She gave a prim smack on the top of his head, and soon she balanced out.

"Okay," she said again, but her voice was more annoyed this time. "Looks like we've got the lot of you. Excellent! The caves are just to the north, about an hour out. We'll be headed there together."

"What of t'e groups?" an old man near the front shouted, and Emma folded her arms over her chest.

"I was getting to that, hold your horses," she chided. "I'll be grouping you based on skill. Or, at least, I'll be judging books by their covers. Let's see..."

There weren't a terrible amount of people there, but Rudy could almost hear the moan from the boy underneath Emma—even he knew that her form of selecting teams was going to be painfully slow.

"I'll need a skilled swordsman. Any of you out there?"

A few men raised their hands, but one was higher that the others, and it even hung lazily, unenthusiastically. Rudy took it as cockiness. And, as Rudy knew she would, Emma pointed to the arrogant hand and said, "You, what's your name?"

"Jack," the man replied. Rudy had a profile view of him: he was taller, by at least a head, than everyone else there, and his long mane of golden brown hair was tied back and draped over his long, worn traveling cloak. Even from the side, Rudy could make out his crooked smile.

"Jack," Emma said, scanning over the crowd, "tough, fearless warrior, eh?"

"Ma'am," he replied, folding his arms over his chest, his smile growing broader.

"Could hold his own in battle?"

"Certainly."

"Years of experience?"

"That and more." Rudy could see a few men roll their eyes.

"Might as well pair you up with some youngsters," she said, matter-of-factly, and Rudy smiled as Jack's was wiped off his face.

Emma stuck her hand out again, pointing at someone Rudy hadn't noticed before. He didn't know how she missed her to begin with; she stuck out sorely with her beautiful golden hair and starch white traveling robe amongst the aged, dirty men. "You, uh... are you sure you're up to this, miss?"

Rudy watched the beauty from the center of the crowd, and he could see her cross her arms and huff in dismay. "Of course I am!" she said in a voice made of porcelain. "And it's... Catherine!" Her hair shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, giving her voice more edge, more passion and honesty.

"Well, alright..." Emma trailed off, and Jack threw his hands up in frustration. Rudy smirked a bit—he could tell being paired up with a young woman probably wasn't on Jack's list of interests. But then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, Rudy's smile faded when all eyes turned to him and Emma said simply: "You."

Rudy turned to the front, completely caught off guard. He had registered the fact that everyone would be organized into groups, but he had been completely oblivious to the notion that he would be grouped with them. Instead of responding, Rudy simply pointed to himself, face wiped clean in shock, and Emma nodded. "To the side, guys." She didn't even ask his name. Rudy wasn't sure if he'd be capable of giving it.

"Can't we work individually on—" Jack began.

"Isaid _no_ complaining!" Emma barked.

Rudy glanced over at Catherine and Jack, but neither of them looked up; they simply hung their heads, fuming as they stormed over to the edge of the crowd to group together. With shy, awkward feet, Rudy fumbled away towards the outer edge of the crowd, and all the men scoffed at him. Rudy may not have been a full fledged man yet, but he still had a sense of pride. At that point, though, he was too nervous to care. Not that meeting new people bothered him; it was the ARM that hung at his side that set him on edge. He felt that every moment spent closer to these strangers was a moment that left the possibility of them finding out who he truly was underneath that sword.

Once Rudy had cleared the crowd, he stood to the side, and Catherine and Jack met up with him. Their eyes landed on each other, and Rudy had to laugh at the stark contrast between them. One was a rugged adventurer, probably in his late twenties, and she was a beautiful young girl, who looked to be sixteen or seventeen. They seemed like the most unlikely pair of partners in a fight. The only thing they had in common was their glares toward each other.

"And what do you do?" Jack asked her, folding his arms over his chest, "bat your lashes at your opponents?"

"I happen to be a magician," Catherine retorted, yet her voice held the utmost dignity and grace, not letting a single trace of venom drop. "I suppose you travel the world looking for a better wardrobe. And why is there a ribbon in your hair?"

"Hey, you don't know—"

"I'm sorry, I never caught your name," Catherine said abruptly, turning to face Rudy. He simply blinked back, his eyes darting between the two quarrelers. Jack was shooting daggers into Catherine's back with his eyes.

"Rudy," he finally replied, a little uneasily, sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well, Rudy," she said, shaking his hand with her silk smooth one, "my name is Catherine."

"Damn," Jack muttered, "I go out looking for adventure, and I get stuck babysitting."

"I can certainly hold my own in battle," Catherine reprimanded, "I'll have you know that I was the top of my class in the Cura—"

"So, you got any skills with that, kid?" Jack said to Rudy, cutting off Catherine like she had done to him. Her mouth fell open and her eyes narrowed.

Rudy only stared back at Jack for a moment before glancing down at his brand new sword. "Uh... not yet."

"Great," Jack muttered, "just great..."

"Don't be so pig headed; you could show him some moves while you're out there!" a muffled, high-pitched voice said, and Jack shuffled around, throwing his arms over the front of his jacket, "you've always wanted an apprentice—said it'd be nostalgic—ouch!"

Jack pounded a fist over his chest, then smiled at Rudy and Catherine. They stared back at him. "Heh, well... we'll make the best of it. If you slow me and Catherine down too much, I'll have to ask you to sit out on this one, though."

"Alright," Rudy replied, eying his chest where the voice had come from warily.

"It's 'Catherine and I'."

"...What?"

"It's 'Catherine and I', not 'me and Catherine'."

"Are you serious, Princess?"

Catherine stilled at this, her eyes growing wide as she stared at Jack.

"You gonna correct my grammar all the way to the excavation?"

She seemed to settle a bit, then laughed a little. "I apologize—it's out of habit."

"Huh... well, where did you say you were from, again?"

"Curan abbey," Catherine stated. Rudy looked at her quizzically, studying her, wondering...

"Oh, hey, Adlehyde's princess is supposed to study there. You know her?"

Catherine smiled a bit. "I met her a few times."

"What about you, kid?" Jack said, turning to Rudy, who was still watching Catherine intently, "where're you from?"

Rudy prepared to answer: "Nowhere," when Emma called out over everyone's heads again.

"That's everyone! Let's move out!" she called. Everyone had been broken into groups of three, and each group started off towards the gates, calling out with excitement.

"Well, Catherine, Rudy," Jack said, motioning toward the gate, "let's make the best of this, huh?" He sounded completely nonplussed.

"I'm certain that after our first battle together," Catherine said, starting forward, "you'll be singing a different tune."

"Puh," Jack scoffed, walking slightly ahead of Rudy as they followed Catherine with the masses toward the gate. A few young boys and women were standing on the sides anxiously watching the men go, and they all seemed to give Catherine a look of confusion, some of contempt. "Rudy—it was Rudy, right? How you think she keeps that pretty traveling cloak of hers so clean? You'd think a white cloak that'd seen a few scrimmages would be brown as a potato by now."

"She does use magic," Rudy said quietly, shrugging a bit, "maybe she's kept it clean that way."

Jack shot Rudy a sideways glance, then shook his head. Rudy got the distinct impression that his answer was one Jack wasn't looking for. "This is gonna be one Hell of an afternoon, kid."

Rudy had no idea how right Jack was.


	2. Lolithia's Tomb, Part One

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

Chapter Two: Lolithia's Tomb, Part One

It didn't take the group long to reach Lolithia's Tomb; Emma had put her invention, the Emma Motor, to work, and created small vehicles called _Chariots _to transport small groups of people more quickly (hence her decision to organize everyone into groups of three). When they got to the excavation site though, the sight Rudy saw was one he wasn't expecting.

Unlike the Berry Cave, the entrance of Lolithia's tomb was grand, with columns and pillars spanning a good distance from the actual doors to the ruins, suggesting it was once a place of worship or grand importance. Rudy looked at the gates with awe, knowing that he had always wanted to explore such a place since he was a small boy.

_I wonder if Grandpa ever went to places like this,_ he thought, stepping off the chariot quickly. Catherine and Jack followed him, and the older man growled, giving the machine a light kick.

"I hope she doesn't expect us to drive those things back," he complained, "because I sure as Hell won't do it."

"Let me drive it next time," Catherine offered, though it wasn't kind, "I probably won't have nearly as much trouble as you seemed to have."

"Hey, hey, watch yourself, no need to get testy," Jack said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "You trying to push buttons or something?"

"Oh no, sir, merely reflecting unto those their proper treatment."

Jack gave her a queer face. "You always gotta be so cryptic?"

"Must you always be an arrogant brute?"

"Whatever," Jack said, scoffing and turning to join the hordes of men with Emma. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I get my gella."

"Honestly," Catherine huffed, turning toward Rudy. "I haven't seen more than one man since childhood, and I can truthfully say that I did not miss many of them."

Rudy scratched behind his ear awkwardly, avoiding Catherine's pointed gaze. It looked like she was expecting an answer, so he finally just shrugged.

"You don't say very much, do you?"

"I keep to myself," he mumbled in return.

"I see."

They gathered beside Jack (though none of them seemed keen on being there together) and Emma climbed the first few steps of the grand courtyard to the tomb, waving her arms in the air to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, here's the deal: the earthquake let lose a whole farm of monsters from some concealed part of the tomb, and now they've flooded the entire excavation site. Your job is to clear out this place so that my back up team can keep working. Everyone will be paid when we get back to Adlehyde."

"How can you guarantee our money?" one man asked from the front of the crowd.

"Oh, money money money, that's all you're on about. Jeez." Emma folded her arms over her chest, dramatically rolling her eyes. "Japeto here'll give you a memo signed by me that will get you your money. He'll be waiting out front. If you come out before the danger's cleared, though..."

"Excuse me," Catherine interjected, raising her arm high in the air. Everyone turned to her.

"Yes?" Emma said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"What is it exactly you're excavating?" she asked. "It has something to do with the festival, doesn't it?"

"That's for me to know and you to not. Just stay out of any areas that look fragile, and just handle the monsters that you can handle. That'll guarantee your money."

Catherine nodded, but Rudy glanced at her sideways to see a suspicious expression on her face. Rudy felt it, too.

Then Emma turned toward the two grand doors. Two of her assistants flanked either side, yet they were yards apart. "Ready, boys?" she asked. They nodded in return, but the gestures were jerky and nervous. Emma didn't seem to notice or care; she simply snapped her fingers, then the men moved towards the giant door handles and began to pull them open.

Like a raging stampede, the men at the front of the group ran forward with their weapons drawn, as if killing the monsters first was a contest. Jack looked back to his two companions and rolled his eyes.

"Let the pawns go first, I guess."

"Quite," Catherine replied.

After the entire herd of men disappeared within the tomb, Jack led Rudy and Catherine up the steps. They passed Emma and her young assistant, and she gave them a nod. "Good luck, Jack," she said almost sympathetically.

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

"Have more faith in your teammates," Catherine chided. "You'd be surprised to find that Rudy and I are more competent than you'd like to imagine."

"Here's hopin'," Jack mumbled. Catherine scoffed.

* * *

_She must be trying to hide the fact that Lolithia's here,_ Jack thought to himself. _Or maybe she's not sure either._

"Hey, Hanpan," Jack whispered quietly as he ascended the steps, "you think we should ditch these two at some point and go look for Lolithia ourselves?"

"Absolutely not!" Hanpan retorted. "You don't think they'll be able to help you in battle, so what makes you think they'll survive in there on their own?"

"Just a suggestion, calm down," Jack said said quietly, trying to make sure neither Catherine or Rudy would hear him. "But if we do find anything in particular... you think we should check it out?"

"At your own discretion, dummy," Hanpan said haughtily. "You won't get paid if Emma finds out."

"Agh, whatever."

"Who're you talking to?" Catherine said suddenly beside him, and Jack jumped.

"Holy crow, don't sneak up on me!"

"I heard someone talking," she reaffirmed. "Who was it?"

"No-one, kid, you're just hearing things."

At this point, they'd entered the tomb, and not one man was in sight. In fact, everything had gone silent. The group must've been far ahead battling already. Jack took note of this warily.

"I know you were talking to someone. Now who—"

"Quiet for a second, kid," Jack said, holding up a hand to silence her.

"It's _Catherine_."

"Catherine, yeah, whatever, pipe down."

Catherine fumed, but he didn't react to her. Rudy stepped up beside him, looking around the cave. "It's quiet," the young man whispered.

"Just what I was thinking," Jack replied quietly. "Keep on your guard."

Jack saw Rudy draw his sword, trying to get it past his traveling sack awkwardly, while Catherine pulled a wand from her cloak. Jack looked to both of them, then said: "If it starts to get hairy, let me take care of things."

He expected Catherine to bite back with some remark, but she nodded firmly, her face stoic and serious. Jack then drew his sword slowly, stepping forward into the dark halls. Torches lit the halls in the distance, but apart from that, there was no light to speak of.

"_Hyde_," Catherine whispered, and the tip of her wand lit up suddenly, illuminating the room around them. The walls and ceilings were grand, stretching far and high, while more columns and arches lined the corridors. The three of them craned their necks upward to take in the sight, then they looked down again to find themselves surrounded by huge, terrifying beasts.

Jack had never seen anything like it in all his Dream Chaser years. The creatures had to be at least nine feet tall, with fat feathered bodies and leathery black feet. They had beady eyes and beaks, but when one leaned over into Jack's face, it roared like a lion.

"Aipeloss!" Catherine cried, then waved her wand again at one of the beasts that circled them. A cascade of flames shot forth, then blasted against the chest of one of the creatures, knocking it backwards. Jack covered his face from the sudden burst of heat, and nearly missed the sight of a creature lunging at him from his side.

Jack dropped to his haunches quickly, then dove to the side just in time to dodge the charging animal. Catherine turned in her step to see the creature, then flicked her wand in a different shape. The Aipeloss opened its beak as it closed the distance between them, ready to snap her head off her shoulders, when it collided mid air with nothing at all. Jack glanced briefly towards the odd sight; the creature had crumpled against an invisible wall, and soft circles of white light could be seen from where the magic barrier held the creature at bay. It crumpled to the cold floor, growling in pain. Jack got to his feet again, spinning on the next creature.

Rudy held his sword with both hands on either end, using it as a shield to block the attacks of the Aipeloss. It snapped at the blade insistently, and it was all Rudy could do to keep its sharp jaws from dislodging his head. The beak closed on the blade, and Rudy fought to keep his stance in place, struggling against the unbelievable strength of the mutant creature that threatened his life.

"Rudy, duck!" Jack called, then dashed forward with nimble feet. Rudy glanced backwards briefly to see Jack charging him with his sword held high, and out of surprise let go of his short sword, dropping down to the ground on his back. The Aipeloss jerked forward a bit, its feet landing on either side of Rudy, and it corrected itself just in time to see the glint of Jack's blade before he slashed at the creature.

Jack was extremely agile, and so not even he saw the full extent of his attack until he turned back to see the Aipeloss topple forward. Rudy rolled to the side just in time to avoid the crushing weight of the beast. He glanced up at Jack, and both of them panted heavily. Wide eyed, Rudy whispered: "Thanks."

Just then, another explosion of fire erupted in the cave, and the last Aipeloss roared before it crumpled to its death, flaming on the dusty stone floor. Catherine stood above it, not even panting, then put her wand away. Jack watched her for a few seconds, and she simply stared back. He sheathed his sword, and with a growing smile, he clapped slowly.

"I guess I did underestimate you," Jack said, ending his applause. "You didn't even break a sweat."

"No, but I'll pay for it later," Catherine said with a smile. "Casting magic makes me hungry."

Rudy pried his sword from the dead creature's mouth, then tucked it into his sheath as well. Jack watched him brush off his pants, and he couldn't help but think that this kid looked so out of place, like a square forcing itself into a circle. He also thought that the kid was made for something more, but he was trying to avoid that route desperately.

"Not bad, but that thing—Aipeloss, did you call it?" Catherine nodded. "—that Aipeloss woulda had you for lunch if all you were gonna do was block its attacks. You need to have at least a little offensive," Jack said, talking with his hands. Rudy watched him, listening intently. "Take your enemy by surprise, make him think you're going for the front, then take him by the side. I do that every now and again."

Rudy nodded, then looked down, scuffing his boot against the ground. "Sorry."

"Hey, you're not dead, right? No need to be sorry. Just try to stay in the back, if you can."

Jack was trying to say it as kindly as he could, but he could see Rudy practically deflate in front of him. He only nodded briefly in response.

_I have to work on my constructive criticism, I suppose. _Jack almost chuckled when he wondered what Hanpan would have to say about that.

* * *

After the incident at the front of the tomb, the three of them met very few enemies. Catherine walked with Rudy and Jack in silence, only speaking when she had to. She was actually waiting intently for Stoldark to speak to her again, to give her more guidance. Nothing came.

The trio entered a high archway into a large stacked chamber, lit by several torches hanging off the walls. Rubble lay on the multiple levels, some large rocks blocking the pathways from ladder to ladder, leading to the top.

"My," Catherine muttered. "It's huge!"

"Yeah," Jack said, tapping his foot. "So how do we get up?"

The three of them scanned the ladders and ledges. There was no direct way up to the top of the chamber.

"I have explosives," Rudy said quietly. "I could blow out that boulder up there."

Catherine watched Rudy for a second, then looked up to the top of the first ledge, where Rudy motioned to. If Rudy could remove the rubble, like he said, they'd be able to climb up the rest of the way.

"Wouldn't you blow up the ledge with it?"

Rudy shook his head.

"All right, kid," Jack replied, patting him heavily on the back. "Be my guest."

Rudy stumbled forward from Jack's gesture, then cleared his throat as he moved forward. The other two watched him as he climbed over a few stray rocks dotting the ground before he climbed the ladder.

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" Jack said to Catherine quietly. She glanced at him sideways for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was trying to mock her and him, or if he was making genuine conversation.

"No," she finally whispered back. Rudy was halfway up the ladder.

"Seems too young to be a Dream Chaser, don't you think?" Jack said. "Can't be more than sixteen."

Catherine tossed her hair lightly. "I just turned seventeen today."

Jack turned himself full toward her. "What?"

"Today is my birthday."

"Seventeen, you said?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Oh... damn, I really am babysitting."

"After our battle, you still believe you're babysitting?"

Jack gave her a crooked smile, but his look of disappointment remained. "No, you can hold your own just fine. I'm just starting to feel pretty old."

"Age holds no limitations on skill," Catherine reassured.

Rudy placed something at the top of the ladder, then slid down its length quickly, jumping and running back to the other two.

"I think he means us to find cover," Catherine suggested, backing up a bit in the doorway. Jack followed, and once they were hidden behind the wall, Jack whispered, "Hey, kid—"

"_Catherine_."

"Yeah, yeah, Catherine... happy birthday."

A loud thundering clap boomed throughout the chamber, and rubble shot off in every direction in the room beyond. A huge cloud of dust burst out from the doorway beside them, and everyone ducked and covered their heads. Once the sound of flying rubble stopped and the smoke cleared, the three of them lifted their heads and looked to the other. Catherine smiled at Jack. "Thank-you," she said, brushing the coat of grey off of her hair.

Rudy didn't say anything, rather he stood and moved back into the large chamber. Jack and Catherine followed, looking at the damage done. Jack did a double take of the ledge above.

"That blast felt like it blew out half the chamber," Jack scoffed. "You just took out the rock."

Rudy nodded, pulling out a small black ball from his pack. It wasn't a ball at all, but a bomb. There was something strange about it, though, like it had been altered. Catherine eyed it carefully, then gasped.

"This is a Tool," she muttered, gently touching its glossy surface while Rudy held it. "Very few people can use these."

She could see Jack look between the two, then he grumbled: "What?"

"Tools are special items that require psychic synchronization," Catherine explained, "and are more powerful than common items. Rudy was able to manipulate the Tool's effects on the ledge."

Jack gave her a queer look, then scoffed again. "Eh?"

"They're slightly enchanted," Catherine affirmed. "You can tell by their aura."

Catherine watched as Jack turned to the Tool slowly, then looked back at her, the same doubtful expression on his face. "I don't see any ah-rah's."

Catherine laughed, a sound akin to chimes. "Of course you can't; you're not a magic user."

Jack shook his head, closing his eyes with a roll. Catherine smiled at him broadly, amused by his reaction.

Rudy put the Tool back in his pack, then moved towards the ladder. The others followed him, and they began to climb the tall structure, trying to reach the doorway on the top. They climbed to the third level before they could see no other way up.

"There's no ladder here," Catherine observed. "The only other way up is on the other side of the platform."

"I like tombs like these," Jack said, eying out the path they would have to take to get to the ladder on the other side. "'Only way up is down' sorta thing."

"Would jumping off that ledge be safe?" Catherine asked warily.

"Yeah, easy-schmeezy, no problem," Jack said, carefree. "Besides, even if we climbed all the way down and went to the other side, there'd be no way to get to that ladder over there, see?" Jack guided Catherine's eyes with his finger, drifting it slowly over the tomb to the far end of the chamber.

"Oh, I see," she said quietly. "Still, leaping from that balcony seems hardly endurable."

"Ah, don't mind your pretty little head, princess," Jack mocked, and Catherine tried desperately to hide the obvious stiffening her body showed when he called her that. "I'll send Rudy down first so that he can catch ya."

Catherine nearly snapped her head in Rudy's direction when Jack said this, and Rudy ducked his head shyly, red tinting his cheeks.

"We should all jump at once," Catherine affirmed. "I would feel more comfortable that way."

"Whatever's best for you, lady," Jack said, lighting the air with a short, amused laugh. "After that light show you gave us up front, I'm sure you'll be fine clearing a ten foot fall."

Catherine didn't want to admit it, but Jack complimenting her skills again stroked her ego, despite the fact that she didn't take particularly well to him (though she was starting to warm to him ever so slightly). Despite herself, a smile tugged at her lips, though she tried to hide it. _"Let go of your ego,"_ he had told her. _Oh, Stoldark, I wish you would tell me more._

"All right, we doin' this?" Jack stood at the edge of the ledge, looking down over the drop. Rubble scattered across the old marble floor was all that could be seen by the faint torchlight.

Catherine moved next to Jack and Rudy followed close behind her. They stood on either side of the tall man, and he rubbed his callous hands together.

"On three," he said, grasping each their shoulders briefly and giving them a firm squeeze. "One, two—"

They all leapt off the ledge, and fell through the air to the platform below as Jack shouted: "Three!"

They hit the ground, and Catherine was the only one to save her footing. The other two fell into a dive, and Jack landed on his back, depressing the floor tile beneath him. Catherine moved forward to ask him if he was all right, but at that very moment, tall, rock walls shot up from the ground, ten feet on either side, imprisoning them.

Catherine saw Jack look up from his place on the ground, surveying the onyx-like walls with wide eyes. There were no breaks or openings, no way to escape their prison. "Dammit!" he yelled, pounding the floor next to him.

With a growl, he shifted himself upwards, then slowly rose from the ground and off the pressure plate. It still remained depressed, and the walls still stood tall around them. "What do we do now?" Catherine asked.

"What?" Jack snapped back, "you don't have a levitation trick hiding up your sleeve or something?"

Catherine eyed him angrily. "No, I don't."

He growled again, then kicked at the wall. After a second, he stretched his arms out to lean against the cold, smooth rock, hanging his head down toward his feet. Catherine chewed lightly at her lip nervously.

"Well, I guess there's no avoiding this anymore," Jack said wearily, standing up tall and turning to face the two teenagers again. "I try not to tell people about Hanpan, usually because it gets us into trouble. People either don't take well to him, or they literally take him."

"What do you mean?" Catherine said, looking at Jack suspiciously. She saw Rudy giving him the same peculiar stare.

"I can introduce myself, you big oaf!" a familiar voice squeaked. Catherine's eyes lit up and darted to Jack's front pocket. The man threw his hands up exasperatingly, then let them slap against his legs in defeat.

"That voice," Catherine said, "that's what you were talking to at the front of the temple and in Adlehyde!"

"Not _what_, _who_ he was talking to," it said again, and a small blue rodent popped out from under Jack's front and climbed hastily on his shoulder. It stood on its hind legs, flicked its tail in the air, then said to Catherine: "I'm Hanpan, Jack's partner and handy wind mouse companion."

Catherine felt her mouth hang open and a gasp rush past her lips. She had read about wind mice, but she didn't think any more existed. They were enchanted creatures, or spirit animals, which possessed unfathomable amounts of knowledge and wisdom. In all her years of study, Catherine found the wind mouse to be the most elusive and enticing; it had a fantasy quality to it simply because they were thought not to exist any longer.

"Oh my," Catherine said quietly, then moved forward. "Hanpan, is it?"

"At your service," he said cheerfully, rubbing a small paw across his nose. "We don't trust strangers all that often. I think you would understand."

Catherine nodded, then stole a glance over at Rudy. He had a puzzling look on his face, and Catherine voiced what she considered their concern.

"It is a pleasant surprise to see you have a wind mouse—"

"He doesn't _have_ a wind mouse, I'm his friend."

"Sorry," Catherine said quickly, "but Jack said 'there's no avoiding this anymore'. I'm assuming you would be able to help us, Hanpan?"

"Of course I can!" the mouse said brightly, "they don't call us wind mice for nothing!"

"Do your thing, pal," Jack grumbled, and Hanpan leapt from his shoulder and darted up and over the rocky wall before Catherine or Rudy could even blink.

"There's always a disarming mechanism close by," Jack said, leaning against the wall. "Hanpan thinks it was so others could come in and disarm the trap, just to see the skeletons of the people who failed the first time. Deterrence or some sort of mumbo jumbo like that."

"I've found it!" Hanpan called, then Jack straightened from the wall. The rocks started to descend back into the floor slowly, and to the right they could see the small mouse standing on a depressed floor tile.

"Look before you leap next time, Jack."

"Hey, we talked about the ridiculing thing," Jack said, walking across the old floor. Catherine noticed he was making his steps carefully, though; he didn't want to make the same mistake twice. "You see anything else, Hanpan?"

"My work here is done," he concluded, dashing up Jack's leg onto his shoulder again. "I have to admit, being out in the open with friendly neighbours isn't something I'm used to."

"Yeah," Jack said, turning around to his companions who followed behind him. "You two handled that well."

"I'm quite familiar with peculiar species," Catherine stated.

"What about you?" Hanpan said, pointing his nose at Rudy. "You don't seem to have any sort of opinion."

Rudy seemed to shrug slightly. "I'm pretty open, especially to someone who's different."

_Kind of like you,_ Catherine thought to herself. She immediately felt ashamed for thinking such a thing, but she couldn't deny that it was true.

"Shall we get going, then?" Jack said, pointing up. "If I listen closely, I can hear our coworkers screaming."

It was a joke, but no-one laughed. "Lead the way, Jack."

"My pleasure."


	3. Lolithia's Tomb, Part Two

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_This story's gonna take a long time. Just so you know._

Chapter Three: Lolithia's Tomb, Part Two

They had passed some groups of warriors, and both parties did their best to ignore the other. There truly was no competition for payment; only pride was the prize to be won, and everyone seemed to strive to kill more than the next man. They did receive some off hand looks from people though, mainly of confusion, and mainly pointed at Jack. It was probably because he seemed to be enjoying the company of the two "children" who followed his trail. When they arrived in a large chamber, however, there was no-one left to question Jack's peculiar team. All that stood in the room was a giant statue of a winged devil, poised to strike fear in those who dared near it. Directly behind it was a large door. The strange thing was that it stood in the wall at least ten feet above the ground.

"A puzzle," Catherine said almost immediately. "But we're meant to be warned away, I believe."

"Yeah," Jack said, eying the statue. "That's a face only a mother could love."

"You two should get along great then," Hanpan muttered under Jack's cloak.

"Hey—"

"Let me see it," Hanpan said, jumping from Jack's coat and dashing across the ground. The trio followed him to the statue, feeling shrouded by its long-cast shadow. Rudy in particular felt himself physically shrink under its presence. It towered over them, its large jaws twisted in a face of rage and contempt—

"It's probably got something to do with the statue," Hanpan said, running around its base. "Somewhere where someone wouldn't dare going."

"Did you try its back?" Jack asked folding his arms across his chest and peering up into the devil's face.

"Are you sure we should be going on with this?" Catherine asked. "Emma requested that we only deal with the threats, not to explore the ruins ourselves."

"You know as well as I do that she was being a little shifty on her terms," Jack explained. "Besides, if we find something ourselves in here, I bet it'd be more than just the five hundred gella she's promising us."

"I'm not so certain, Jack," Catherine said softly, looking genuinely concerned. "It's not that I'm worried about disobeying Emma's outlines, only that this may affect the festival."

Jack gave her a blank stare for a second. "You kidding me? We won't damage anything. Heck, we'll probably be helping her out. She obviously couldn't figure this one out on her own."

Rudy, of course, stayed silent, though he strongly agreed with Catherine. He didn't like the feel of that room; he often had a keen sense for trouble. Well, most of the time. The earthquake was just a tragic mistake.

"Nothing here," Hanpan reported, peering his head over its shoulder. Rudy looked up at the mouse, then back into the monster's face. It seemed so terrifying to look at, but he somehow felt some sort of connection to it. He dropped his gaze to its body, trying to avoid that heated gaze, and then—

"Its right hand," Rudy said before he could stop himself, pointing to the outstretched limb. "It's got something on it."

Everyone followed his gesture, and Hanpan scurried along its shoulder and down its arm. Sure enough, inside the devil's palm was a protruding circle of stone, and Hanpan saw that it could be pushed in. He looked back down at Jack. "Should I try it?"

Rudy would have said "No". _It's watching us_, Rudy thought. _Something's going to go wrong._

"Let me," Catherine said, then stepped forward. Rudy nearly bugged his eyes in surprise as she stood on her toes, reached up and grasped the devil's hand; at that moment, Rudy realized that the gesture was a handshake. Catherine squeezed its hand firmly, and everyone heard the audible click as the small button was pushed in.

The statue began to sink into the floor. Hanpan leapt hastily onto Jack's shoulder, scurrying across his back in a blur. The trio began to back up; as the statue lowered into the ground, steps began to rise behind it, one by one, the gears groaning in protest from years of disuse as it slowly rose the staircase. They watched as the last step ground into place before a long, large platform began to ascend, grumbling with ferocity and causing the room to tremble. Within minutes, the path was laid out for them as the platform came to a rumbling halt just below the two grand doors.

Jack looked back at Catherine, cocked a grin, then waved an arm dramatically. "After you, milady."

She laughed her chime-like laugh again, then started up the steps with Jack, but Rudy hesitated. Catherine looked back at him. "I think Jack's right: this may be more beneficial to everyone if we proceed."

A little bit of manly pride and the love of adventure got caught up in Rudy when Catherine said this. So what if Emma didn't want them poking around? The others would be fine fighting off monsters on their own, and going off on small excursion was Rudy's idea of a little pick-me-up. Sometimes it was just best to not look before you jumped.

"Right," Rudy said, then continued on up with them, trying to push away his feelings of unease. Maybe Catherine was just as eager for adventure, too.

However, when they got to the large doors, the realization came upon them that there were no door handles, no mechanisms to open it; there was nothing for them except an inscription.

"Hey, Hanpan," Jack said, leaning over to the small print. It wasn't in their tongue, but in some ancient language. "Can you read this?"

Hanpan darted around Jack's shoulders, then twitched his nose as he studied the inscription.

"_Lie here a force 'twixt good and ill; no man nor demon shall have her fill. By the will of our Guardians be, face her iced breath by Light of the Land may she._"

"Crap," Jack said with a bemused laugh. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It most definitely means that this was the place that the recording was referring to," Hanpan stated matter-of-factly. "But the inscription says 'she' may enter with the Guardians' permission. And it says 'Light of the Land' instead of 'Land of Light'. Maybe it's referring to... oh, damn, what was that called again?"

"Ah, that whatchamacallit that the royal family has; I know what you're talking about." Jack stood tall again, turning to the two teenagers. "Anyway, that's a shame. Looks like we can't get through. I was looking forward to doing some exploring. Let's head back and give those loonies with swords a hand."

Rudy turned with Jack, but he looked back over his shoulder at Catherine. She didn't follow right away, and she looked like she was rubbing her palms together in front of herself, looking up at the grand door. Then Rudy saw something he thought was a trick of the light, but it lasted longer than imagination would have, and he could have sworn the gentle haze surrounding her for that brief second was light blue.

The doors began to creak louder than the stairs had, and foot by foot, they slid back into the walls, shaking dust and small debris from the walls in the entire chamber. Jack turned around with a triumphant laugh as he watched the doors open, but Rudy only stared in wonder at Catherine's back. She was standing before the door, her hands folded behind her as she looked up to the parting doors, with her right hand clutching something securely. In between her fingers, Rudy could just make out the dimming of faint, blue light.

"Hey, it opened!" Jack called out over the loud gears, making his way back to Catherine. "You pulled some sort of hocus-pocus trick on it or something, C.?"

"No, it began to move on its own," she said, but Rudy could see through her thin lie. All his suspicions were confirmed then, but he didn't want to give away her secret. He knew she worked hard to conceal it from them both. He just didn't know why he hadn't realized it before.

"Well, kick-ass!" Jack cheered. He peered into the cave, but he was only met with blackness. "I guess no-one's been in there for a really long time, eh?" He motioned to the black room beyond. "No torches."

Catherine didn't make any reply; she simply moved forward beyond the door. "Hey, watch yourself, C."

"Oh, come now! The great adventurer, scared?" she said, looking back over her shoulder with a teasing grin. Just then, her hair flew back with a gust of wind, and she yelped, jumping back.

"What, is the little lady scared?" Jack retorted playfully, but Catherine didn't answer his question. A low growl rumbled from beyond the black doorway, and the floor shook. It wasn't gears groaning and creating the quakes again—they were footsteps. Large footsteps.

"Oh, no," Catherine muttered, stepping slowly backwards ever so slowly. Jack drew his sword from his sheath.

"Rudy, maybe you'd better hang back on this one," he said, and Hanpan scurried back into his breast pocket. Rudy began to oblige, backing across the long platform with them.

"Jack—" Catherine said fearfully, grabbing at her wand hastily. Rudy stepped down onto the stairs again, and at that moment, the rumbling became louder and quicker, and then—

A large, ugly black head of a turtle-like beast emerged from the darkness, adorned with tusks on its skull and its large, arching shell, and it gave a deafening roar. Jack dropped into a defensive position, and Catherine whipped her wand, sending a jet of flame flying at the giant. Rudy, despite his desire to fight, turned and fled down the stairs, searching for cover.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Rudy ducked behind the side, watching the battle above. The burst of flame struck the giant tortoise, but it kept stomping forward on its large, gnarled legs. It snapped its jaws with a loud _crack_, and sparks of lightning shot out from its jaws in nearly every direction. The two of them were knocked from the platform, and they both fell heavily onto the ground below. Rudy winced, then rushed to Jack's side (for he fell closer to Rudy), taking the opportunity when the monster paused to roar again.

"Jack!" Rudy shouted, "you okay?"

"Crap!" Jack said, starting to sit upright. "I thought those things were a myth! Hanpan, you all right?"

"I'm outta here!" he chirped back, then leapt from Jack's pocket deftly. Jack then sprang to his feet, watching the giant tortoise make its advance across the platform. On the other side of the stairs, Catherine popped into view. Both of them made eye contact, and nearly at the same time, they shouted to each other: "The Magtortous!"

The giant snapped its jaws again, and this time everyone ducked as the beams of lightning flew past their heads, colliding with the walls behind them. Rudy had heard the story of the Magtortous as well: it was a mythical creature made by the Guardians to protect things most precious to all of Gaia. Rudy ducked by the ten-foot tall platform as Jack and Catherine rushed back up the stairs to face the Magtortous again. When Catherine called out and a large _stomp_ rumbled the room, Rudy knew what he had to do, but he couldn't possibly do it...

_They need you,_ he thought to himself desperately, _but I can't do it to myself again..._

Rudy stood again and moved to the stairs, peering up its length. Catherine cast a shielding spell on her and Jack, and he was dodging to the sides, swiping at the monster's underbelly to no avail. The tortoise dipped its head low, aiming one of its tusks at Jack, then swept upwards. Jack dodged to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding being ripped in half like paper.

"Rudy, I changed my mind!" Jack shouted. "Any help would be appreciated!"

Rudy reached for his sword again, then stopped. He would be of no use to them with that. His bag weighed heavily on his shoulder, and he fought internally with the idea...

Jack yelled in pain, and he fell on the side of the platform, just in front of Rudy. "This ain't good," he moaned, trying to get back to his feet again, pain etched on his face.

Rudy looked up with fearful eyes at the Magtortous towering over Catherine, watching her back up slowly in horror as it closed in on her, its large yellow eyes reflecting her fearful face for Rudy to see. It growled, lowered its head again, and rushed forward to gouge Catherine.

"_Rudy!_"

He moved faster than he thought possible—with two bounds, he covered the stairs and passed Jack, tearing the ARM from his satchel. The thin material tore from his shoulder and flew away, and Rudy pointed the Hand Cannon at the Magtortous's lowered skull. Time seemed to slow, and the creature was still in space, ever slowly moving closer to Catherine with its tusk. Rudy aimed, and without a moment's hesitation, fired.

The animal's body jolted in place, collapsing on its legs and dropping its head to the ground. Rudy could see where the projectile had struck—there was a deep gash on the top of the monster's head, and blood began to pool there. Catherine gasped, stumbling backwards from the creature, while Rudy moved forward slowly, his steps full of authority and domination. He fired again, and the Magtortous jolted a second time, moaning out a long, loud wail. It stumbled back onto its feet and tried to back away from Rudy, and he paused, lowering the Hand Cannon. The Magtortous lifted its head, then contemplated Rudy with its gold-like eyes, snorting in agitation. Rudy didn't dare fight back; he knew when someone or something was surrendering, and he would not abandon his merciless nature, not for anything. The Magtortous began to lower its head, then it dropped to its front knees before its hind legs gave out. The giant spiked shell on its back quivered with its weakness, and Rudy had the distinct impression that the creature was bowing.

A flake of the creature broke off and floated up, fading into white and disappearing as it rose, as if it were an ember or some ash escaped from the fire. Another piece broke off, then another, and soon the entire Magtortous began to disappear like wood in flame, and the three of them witnessed the spectacle in awe.

"What's going on?" Jack said, a little dumbfounded.

"It really is a divine creature," Catherine said quietly. "It was sent by the Guardians."

The Magtortous gave a low, satisfied growl before it disappeared completely into the air.

Rudy was watching the place where it had disappeared with a certain sense of defeat, partly from guilt of killing the magnificent creature, partly because he had given away his identity. He had ruined himself once again. He hung his head low. He couldn't bear to face them.

"Kid..." Jack said, shock lacing his voice. Rudy didn't turn around. "Hey, Rudy, pal, let me ask you something."

He certainly wasn't expecting that kind of response from anyone, so he turned around out of surprise. Catherine and Jack were both looking at him, wide eyed with slack jawed. Catherine recovered quickly, but Jack allowed his maw to hang open ungracefully. "When the hell were you planning on flashing that bad boy?"

Rudy couldn't muster any sort of response for a moment, for he was confused—why weren't they cursing him? "I wasn't," Rudy said quietly, unsure of himself.

"My God, Rudy," Catherine said. "You saved our lives. _My_ life. Thank-you."

He couldn't reply. His mouth moved a bit, as if his mind was prepared to respond, but he was speechless.

"Here you were, lagging that sword around... I thought you were some hyped up kid who just wanted to slash things! Why didn't you pull out your ARM earlier?"

Rudy was beyond confused. He didn't understand how these two individuals could be so open and welcoming to him being an ARMs wielder. He had the forbidden power to use such a fatal tool, like the Demons thousands of years before. Why weren't they frightened of him? Why were they complimenting and thanking him?

"Silent as ever, I see," Catherine said, giving a sly smirk. "We'd be hard pressed to get two words from you, it seems."

"I was exiled because of this," Rudy said suddenly, motioning the ARM slightly. "I've always been on my own. Everyone thinks of me as evil."

"After what you just pulled?" Jack said, folding his arms over his chest. "You might as well be Guardian of the Lucky Stars Shooting From People's Rear Ends!"

It had been a long time since he'd done it, but Rudy smiled genuinely at Jack's remark, scuffing his boot on the platform bashfully. "I guess we're all keeping secrets, huh?"

Catherine laughed weakly before saying: "Truly, Rudy, your gift is a blessing, not a curse. I am grateful."

"Yeah, me too, kid," Jack said, making a small bow. "You should be teaching me a few tricks, not the other way around."

Rudy laughed slightly with his smile, looking down at the Hand Cannon. It had never seemed so bright and shiny to him before; he would have thrown it away had it not protected him, had it not come from Gramps. For the first time since he received it, Rudy held his ARM with pride.

He slung it in the leather tool loop in his belt, letting it rest in the open for them to see. If those two accepted him for who he was, he didn't care who saw his identity hanging from his belt. As long as he was with them, he could feel included.

"Hey, look," Hanpan said, dashing up onto the platform from across the chamber. "There's light in that room now."

Everyone turned their attention to the room beyond, and sure enough, beams of light fell from the ceiling across the old, dusty floor. Rudy briefly thought that the lightning attack from the Magtortous blasted holes through the thin layer of dirt above by sheer coincidence.

"Let's take a look," Jack said, moving forward. Both Rudy and Catherine were hesitant, and met each other's eyes. They both shared concerned expressions for a moment, but Rudy was still high on his elation of acceptance, and a smile broke across his face easily. Catherine gave her own.

"I suppose we've come this far, right?" she said, moving forward. Hanpan dashed between her feet and leapt up onto Jack's shoulder in one bound, and they each went into the room beyond, once guarded by the Magtortous—

—Lolithia's Tomb.

Jack cursed out loud once he stepped into the grand chamber; the beams of light streaked down from the ceiling across the room, most of which fell across a giant statue that rested at the back of the room. Its head nearly touched the ceiling, and its long body was thick and dominating. Rudy found it more eerie than the devil statue preceding it.

"Is this...?" Catherine started, looking over the statue with shock.

"This is a golem!" Hanpan declared. "So, the stories are true!"

"That's Lolithia?" Jack said, eying it up and down. "Damn, that can't be the _Power_. I wouldn't be able to lift that thing!"

"Wait," Catherine said, turning toward Jack and Hanpan, whom rested on his shoulder. "You mentioned 'Lolithia'. Where did you hear that name?"

"In some Elw ruins," Jack replied, "not to far from Adlehyde."

"So, all this time, you were looking for Lolithia as well?" Catherine asked, bewildered.

"'As well'? You were on a treasure hunt, too?"

"No, I..." Catherine hesitated, then shook her head. "I just heard the name before. It caught me off guard."

"Well, I hate to ruin your party," Hanpan said, "but I think this is what Emma was looking for. I think we just meddled in her festival plans."

"What're you talking about?" Jack said with a scoff. "We just _made_ her plans! She obviously couldn't get through this part of the ruins, and we did it for her! She should be thanking us for this!"

Rudy caught Catherine gazing up at Lolithia for a long moment before she brought her gaze to Jack again. "We should inform her of what we've found, then."

"Yeah," Jack said, peering up at the golem. "Someone ought to know why she's so goddamn important."

"I hope so," Catherine said softly, seemingly deep in thought. Rudy wondered what it was the princess of Adlehyde was so concerned about.

* * *

"Gurdijeff's ass," Emma cursed, looking up at the dormant golem. "You weren't kidding!"

"I apologize for violating your terms of agreement," Catherine said quietly.

"No, I... damn! I never expected a bunch of grunt workers to crack the ruins!"

"Hey, lady," Jack blurted, "watch your mouth."

"Sorry," Emma said, though she didn't turn from the golem, nor did she seem genuinely concerned about insulting the man. "I just don't know how you did it. You know how long we've been searching?"

"I suppose a very long time," Catherine offered. Emma only nodded slowly.

"I'll get my excavation team rearing to go," Emma said, finally turning to the group. "I'll offer you five hundred gella each for the find."

"Only?" Jack said, but twitched a bit and choked a noise in his throat. Hanpan always bit a little too hard.

"Hey, that's a good deal compared to what those other barbarians are gonna get." Emma waved a finger towards Jack. "You mind your pretty little head, boy."

"...Boy?"

"Let's get a move on!" Emma cheered, cutting off Jack and moving past them. The trio lagged behind her a bit, and Catherine chuckled quietly, looking sideways at Jack. He glowered back.

"She is a little bossy, isn't she?"

"That's not the word I was going for," Jack mumbled back. Catherine laughed. Even Rudy chuckled.

When they made it back out of the ruins, Jack, Catherine and Rudy offered to stay behind and wait for Emma to return with the excavation team. Three by three, men who'd been hired by Emma to clear the ruins emerged from the giant doors covered in dirt and blood. All of them gave Jack and his two young companions smug, dirty glares. Jack smirked back, even waved at a few.

"See ya later, you lousy—"

"Jack, not so loud."

"Hey, I'm the condescending one," Jack affirmed. "No one's allowed to look down on me."

"At least you know you've outdone them for gella."

Jack gave her a sidelong glance. "They don't know it. Not yet, anyway."

"You're a proud man."

"Amen!" Jack said under his breath.

An hour later, they could see Emma blowing over the horizon with several more _Chariots _following closely behind. She all but jumped off of her vehicle as it came to a rolling stop, then marched over to the trio with a broad smile on her face.

"Gentlemen, meet our saviours!" Emma called, holding her arms out to them as if putting them on display. "All right, team, care to escort us to our bright and beautiful baby?"

"Beautiful?"

'Let's move on out!"

They traversed through the empty ruins, and this time there were no men or creatures to greet them. They were able to avoid the same traps and tricks from before with ease (Hanpan whispered instructions to Jack so that he wouldn't have to make another appearance) and after a short journey, they found their way back to Lolithia's tomb once again.

"Holy cow," a worker whispered to the next, "I thought it was a myth!"

"Alright, get a move on! Oh, and be careful what you touch. When you're—hey, watch what you're doing with that pulley! Make sure you don't disturb anything around her. We'll get a demolition team up above—I said _watch it_!"

The three of them made their way to the outside again, and by the time they arrived, a crater large enough to lift the golem through was blasted through the ground.

"They mean business, huh?" Jack said to the others, watching the workers set up the Emma Motor and prepare to lift tonnes of weaponry from the tomb. "Makes you feel kind of small, don't you think?"

"Hardly."

"Oh, right. You could probably do the same with a flick of your wand."

"That's not what I meant!" she retorted. "I just don't think our jobs as muscle work should be underminded by technology."

The motors started to _whir_, and men began to shout orders and directions to others. Everyone rushed around as the pulleys from the motor drew in closer and closer...

"Lift the crane!"

A wooden pillar laden with metal reinforcements began to rise from the ground. The rope ran through a small, thick ring attached to it, and it was lifted along with the plank as it rose.

"'Ere she comes!"

The smooth, round head of Lolithia appeared first, facing Jack, Rudy and Catherine. It rose up from the crater, and the three of them looked up to watch it be pulled up into the air. With a sudden jerk, the motor stopped, and Lolithia was suspended mid air by the crane, rocking slowly and gently, as if it were a hunk of metal rather than a dormant weapon.

"Isn't it cute?" Emma said from behind them. They all turned to look at her. She had her hands clasped in front of her chest, and her eyes were glossed over as she looked up at the golem with a gleeful smile. "Wow."

"I wouldn't say 'cute'," Catherine whispered.

"Ah, my, you've all been such a help." Emma looked down at the trio, inspecting each of their blank faces. Rudy offered a small smile, fidgeting around when she kept staring at him. "For you, I'll add a big bonus. Come see me at the festival tomorrow; I'll show you the collection."

"Collection?" Catherine asked.

"This is the third golem we've excavated," Emma said, looking up at Lolithia again. "There's supposed to be eight hidden around the world. Now they're just old relics of an ancient war, but back then... man, were they something. I'd be happy to show them to you myself, so you have to come by. Please?"

"Uh, well, look," Jack said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I wasn't planning on sticking around for the festival..."

"Oh, but you _have_ to!" Emma said, reaching out and grabbing his hands. "There's never been so much history, so much—so much—_stuff_ in one place before! You can't just walk away!"

"I would recommend it, Jack," Catherine said. "You might find something interesting there."

"She has a point_,_" Hanpan whispered.

"Ah... okay, yeah. We'll meet you tomorrow. You got a problem with that, Rudy?"

He shook his head.

"Right."

"Oh! Thank-you, thank-you, _thank-_you! I'm so excited! Tomorrow's going to be so successful!"

She looked to the horizon. "Well, it's getting late. You all should better get back to Adlehyde for the night. The inn is actually nice to stay in; I recommend it."

"Yeah, thanks," Jack said. "So, C., take you up on that driving deal?"

She laughed lightly. "Of course."

Emma went back to staring up at Lolithia. "Glorious..."


	4. The Ruin Festival

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_Holy hell batman that took a long time. But it's mostly because I haven't had time to play the game and get my facts just right that this took so long. BUT, guess who has two thumbs and a B- average now? THIS chick does! (Imagine me pointing at myself with my two thumbs)_

_So, kicking around the Wild ARMs communities, I found out that number 3 is considered "Old School". I am ancient at 21._

Chapter Four: The Ruin Festival

"You're not coming in?" Jack asked. The three of them were standing in front of the Adlehyde Inn, just having arrived back in town from their day-long excursion. Dusk was setting on the land; lamps lit up the streets, and people retired to their homes and closed their shops for the evening. From within the inn came howls of laughter and wholesome noise; it was another night of celebration for some.

"No, I'm afraid not," Catherine said serenely. "I have family here I need to see."

Jack stared at her dumbly for a second, then let out a snort. "So, what, you usually just go treasure hunting for fun from time to time before stopping home for some dinner?"

She laughed. "I've never done something like this before. And... will you both be here tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm just going to pop over to the festival and get my pay from Emma, and then I'll probably head off west somewhere."

"Oh... you won't be staying."

"No, I won't. I don't know about Rudy here..."

Rudy looked between the two of them. "I don't know what I'm going to do."_ I knew this wouldn't last long._

"I see." Catherine looked put out. Then she said: "I'll never forget this adventure. It really was the time of my life. Jack," she stuck out her hand and he shook it firmly. He gave a crooked smile into her eyes, and she returned it. "Rudy," she said fondly, and grabbed his hand the same way. "Thank you again for saving us back there. You really are a gifted man."

_Man._ "Thanks."

"Hanpan," she whispered. "It was nice meeting you, too."

"Likewise," he whispered back.

Then she curtsied, gave them one last smile, and said, "Good luck on your journey," before disappearing around the corner.

"Man, what a gal, huh, Rudy?" Jack said, nudging him with his elbow. "That really was a blast, wasn't it?"

_I wouldn't say "blast". _"I guess so."

"So, I'm usually a solo traveler myself—well, apart from Hanpan, of course—but if you plan on heading out west, you and I can head on out together tomorrow."

_Yeah, I'd like that a lot_, he thought. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Hm. Well, whaddya say we get some pints, then call it a night? You've had your share of ale before, right?"

Rudy just nodded quietly with his usual small smile and followed Jack into the inn.

* * *

Cecilia crossed the room with a certain grace, almost as if she were gliding. Knights flanked her on either side, holding their javelins high in salute as she passed. They all smiled to her, and she was surprised to find she recognized almost all of them. Terwillegar, Argyll and Capilano were among the men she knew from her childhood; some had aged into their later years and stood next to men of their appearance and several years younger—their sons. She only paid them attention briefly, however, because at the end of the long hall stood Minister Johan, and seated next to him was her father, King of Adlehyde.

Her smile grew brilliant as she laid eyes on him. He stood from his throne, looking over her with amazement and smiling broadly himself. He hadn't seen his daughter since she had left for the Curran Abbey. She had just been a child then. Now Cecilia was a grown woman—many couldn't help but think she looked just like her late mother.

"Cecilia," he said in his deep, soothing voice. "Was your journey safe?"

She dipped her head slightly, her smile growing broader briefly. "It was."

"My, look at you!" he said, touching her shoulders and brushing her hair affectionately. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, Cecilia."

"And an established magician."

"Yes, yes, I've heard of your success in your studies. I'm quite proud of you, Cecilia. I do wish I had more time to see you, though."

"As do I," she replied. "But we'll have all the time to catch up now, won't we?"

"Ha ha, I suppose we will," he replied, then looked around the grand hall. "But I suppose we should go somewhere more private to share our stories."

Cecilia giggled. "I suppose we should."

"Now, tell me," he said, guiding her with a hand to her back, "did you have any troubles coming here tonight?"

"I arrived early, actually," she admitted. "I participated in the tomb expedition for the festival."

"You... my," her father said, laughing as they entered the hallway to the stairwell. "You really are the top of your class, aren't you?"

* * *

"You don't have any interest in checking out the festival, do you?"

Rudy shook his head a little uncertainly. "No."

"Oh, good. I hate carnival stuff. Too many people. We'll just go over and get our money from Emma, then start getting ready to head out. What do you say?"

Rudy smiled a little, but hesitated with his nod. Jack read the look.

"Thinking on C., eh?" he said with a playful nudge. "We can take a look for her today if you want. Say goodbye, maybe see if she'll walk us to the mountain pass or something. Hah, sounds like a date."

Rudy shrugged. "Just to say goodbye would be nice. She's... nice."

Jack winked at him. "Don't get a lot of friendly company from pretty girls, huh?"

Rudy blushed a little, then shook his head. "I usually don't get a lot of friendly company."

Jack nodded. "'Cause of that weapon, yeah?" Rudy nodded. "Sorry it's gotta be like that, kid. Lots of superstitious people hanging around in the wrong groups, I suppose."

They began walking east towards the festival grounds. It was still early in the morning, but a steady bustle of a crowd could already be heard gathering nearby. "Thanks, Jack."

"Uh, sure."

"I mean for letting me come with you."

"Oh, yeah," Jack said with a smile. "Pleasure's all mine. I could use some company."

"What about me?" Hanpan squeaked.

"Rudy's company," Jack retorted. "You're a pain in the butt."

"Hmph."

As they came to the town's outskirts, a middle aged man waved them in. "You won't be disappointed. Emma's really outdone herself for this festival!"

They followed the town wall to the end, and turned the corner into the grounds. Jack and Rudy tensed up almost at once. The place was bustling with people; it seemed like double the population of Adlehyde was crammed inside the grounds. The two of them stood at the front for a moment, then Jack sighed heavily.

"Okay, let's go swimming," he said, and they approached the sea of people tentatively.

Rudy had never been around so much activity in his life. While one woman on his right offered him flowers for a gella, another on his left was trying to sell him salted jerky. It was overwhelming to be around so many people at once, but at the same time, it made him feel more confident. His ARM was out in the open now, and no-one seemed to make a comment about it. No-one shouted or ran from him. He felt he could almost walk a little easier, albeit it being harder to breathe.

What really caught them unawares were the exhibits. Jack and Rudy expected to see the familiar towering figure of Lolithia with two other golems, just as Emma had indicated, but the three of them swallowed the sun in their sheer size; dormant death in a cold, metal shell.

"Emma went to work, didn't she?" Jack breathed, sheltering his eyes and peering up at the silhouettes. "Man, those are something."

"Yeah," Rudy said in a distant, far off voice. _There are more of those things_, he thought._ I wonder what they're for._

"Hello, boys," Emma called from over the crowd. The two of them looked to see her standing there, her arms wrapped over her chest with a smirk on her face. "Admiring my collection, I see."

"Pretty impressive," Jack agreed, giving them another glance. "Where'd you find those beauties?"

"All over the place. It took me a few years to find them, but we've been keeping them in storage for a long time, just for this."

"You have storage big enough for this?"

"That's a different story," she replied shortly, removing the bag from her shoulder. "There's five hundred in there for each of you. Speaking of that, where is that pretty blonde girl?"

"She hasn't come by to see you yet?" Jack asked. "She had family here to see, so we split up last night."

"Well, I'm sure you'll see her later. You do have her share, after all."

"Well, thanks," Jack said. "That's a pretty good price, I suppose."

"Your ARM!" Emma gasped, almost cutting off Jack's last words. "You didn't say you had an ARM. What was your name again?"

"Rudy," he answered quietly.

"Rudy, you going to come by my shop sometime and let me tinker with that?" She pointed to his ARM, eying it up and down like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. In Emma's case, it might not have been far off.

For Rudy, he felt more perplexed than he possibly thought he could be. He'd already found people who didn't hate him for the weapon he carried, but now he found someone who admired him for it. "Sure," he said hesitantly.

"I'll hold you to that," she said with a smile. "Now, why don't you two enjoy the festival? Everyone put in some hard work for it."

"I hate to break your heart, but Rudy and I aren't a fan of crowds," Jack said lightly. "I feel like I'm about to explode."

"Oh, you're no fun," Emma chided. "Fine, go on, get out of here. Any chance you'll be seeing me before you leave?"

"It's probable. I'm guessing Rudy and I won't be able to head out until tomorrow now; we're losing enough daylight as it is."

"Right. You better say bye before you go," Emma shook a finger at Jack with a grin. "And _you_ should give me a look at that ARM of yours."

"I will," Rudy said with a nod, smiling to her.

The two of them made their way through the crowd, and it took them several minutes just to get to the gates of the festival once more. They all sighed with relief, Hanpan included, once they left the grounds behind them. "I'm all for this celebration stuff, just as long as I don't have to be apart of it."

"Me too."

They kept walking in to town. "So, where do you think the princess lives?" Jack asked.

Rudy looked at him, surprised. "In the palace."

Jack guffawed, looking at Rudy amusedly. "Yeah, nice one."

Rudy furrowed his brow. "Where else would she live?"

"In a house. C's not the prin..." Jack slowed in his step, then stopped. Rudy stopped with him.

"I thought you noticed," Rudy muttered.

"She's the goddamn _princess? _And we let her go in those catacombs with us?"

"You said she seemed to hold her own—"

"What if she died? What then? Death looming over our heads in the form of a rope, that's what. This entire time... how the hell did I miss that?"

"You always were pretty slow," Hanpan muttered.

"It's not like you noticed, you stupid rat," Jack bit back.

"Hey!"

"I can't believe this..."

"It's not that bad."

"If something happened to her, we'd be at the gallows. I say that's pretty bad. Man, I'm so _pissed!_"

"Calm down," Hanpan quipped. "Let's just see if we can have an audience with her. Then you can take your frustrations out on the right person."

Jack looked to his coat pocket where Hanpan sat, then sighed. "Sorry, guys. I just don't like taking risks I could've avoided."

"Well... the palace, then?"

"Yeah, guess so."

As they started walking, Rudy's eyes landed on a little boy off to the side of the road. He was huddled by the trunk of a tree with a balloon tied to his wrist. He had his arms wrapped around himself as he cried hysterically. Rudy couldn't bring himself to pry his eyes away; he felt connected to the boy, and he knew exactly what kind of torment he must have been feeling to be crying so hard. Before Rudy realized what he was doing, he was headed for the boy.

"Hey, Rudy, what're you...?" Jack trailed off, seeing the kid.

Rudy knelt down in front of the boy. "Are you all right?"

"I lost my mommy," he sniffed, swiping his wrist quickly under his nose. "I let go of her hand in the crowd and then she was gone."

"I _hate_ crowds," Jack muttered from behind Rudy, shaking his head.

"We can help you find your mom," Rudy reassured. "Where did you last see her?"

The boy hiccuped a couple of times before he could answer. "By the big statue up front."

"Let's go look for her, okay?" Rudy said. He felt odd somehow. He never thought he would be opening himself up to a little boy like this. After what had happened back in Surf, he supposed he had a soft side for children, especially the lonely and the lost. He knew deep down they had everything in common.

The little boy took his hand tentatively, gripping it, making sure he wouldn't somehow slip away. They boy got up with Rudy, and they began to walk towards the festival again.

"Rudy, I'll meet you by the front of the palace," Jack called. "I'm gonna go have a word with Princess." His words were icy.

Rudy nodded over his shoulder, then kept going with the boy.

"We should be able to find your mom easy with your balloon," Rudy said quietly. "Was she with you when you had it?"

"Uh-huh."

"She'll be able to recognize you, then."

"Yeah, you're right," the little boy said, his voice cheering up noticeably. "I like this balloon because it's red. Red is my favourite colour."

"Mine too," Rudy said, smiling.

The boy untied the balloon from his wrist, gripping the string and holding it up. He looked to Rudy. "Sometimes, I wish I could fly just like—"

The balloon slipped from the boy's fingers, and he wailed as it flew up into the air. "Oh! My balloon!"

"Oh, no," Rudy whispered, looking up and watching the balloon fly away. When his eyes met the sky, however, the balloon was the last of his worries. He stayed staring upward, and all around him others stopped and stared. There was something wrong with the sky...

As the balloon floated further up, the clouds seemed to thicken and darken in colour by the second. It was like a storm, but somehow different. They stopped rolling and gliding and just seemed to come to a sickening stop, congealing into something hard and unnatural. When the balloon floated closer, a bolt of what might have been lightening struck out at it, cracking like a whip, drowning out the sound of the balloon's weak _pop_. Several people cried out in surprise, and Rudy ducked down with the boy, covering him protectively with his arms. Then the clouds began to crack apart.

The hole that was left behind wasn't of sky; as the pieces of viscous cloud fell towards the earth, a black mass of moving nothingness left in its wake. Rudy watched on in horror, and people around them began to scream and run.

"The sky is cracking!" an old man from nearby called out. "The end is upon us!"

"No!" the little boy shouted. "I don't want to die!"

He pulled away from under Rudy's arms. Rudy tried to swipe for the back of his vest, trying to pull him back, but he was too late. When he looked back up to the sky again, pools of light were forming from within the black, and then they shot down quickly in thick beams, striking the earth ferociously.

As one beam struck down nearby, Rudy realized they were in the form of boulders. He got to his feet and scrambled away, trying to avoid the falling catastrophe. When one landed right in front of him, he threw himself backwards off his feet, landing heavily on his rear. As he tried to get back up, the light dissipated from the boulder, and he saw it begin to change into something else. When it had finally transformed, it turned to Rudy, baring its sharp, white teeth and snarling. It lifted its scaled arms over its head, then swung the mace it had in its grip down towards him.

Rudy kicked himself out of the way in time, then struggled to his feet, drawing his sword to block another swing of the lizard-thing's mace. He was knocked down by the blow again, and the thing stood over him, wearing a shield, armour, and a vicious, blood thirsty glare for Rudy. The boy only met its eyes briefly, for when it swung its mace over its head again, Rudy pulled his ARM and fired at the creature's chest.

With the mace still poised over its head, the monster went flying backwards, landing several feet away from where he stood. Rudy stood, holding his weapon menacingly as he approached the creature. A large, black crater sat in the middle of his chest. Rudy realized its blood was black.

He spun around surveying the town around him. Nearly all the boulders had turned into creatures of varying shapes; some chased down the townspeople with weapons branded, maws agape, and blood staining their alien armour. Some of the buildings were destroyed from the boulder crashes, and some more buildings were on fire.

Rudy looked around frantically for any nearby survivors. He saw several people crumpled on the ground, killed by fallen boulders that had not changed. A short distance away lie the boy.

Rudy grimaced to himself. One step too late.

A woman nearby cowered as an animated skeleton approached her, scimitar branded and jaw opened wide in a grotesque roar. Rudy sheathed his sword and ran towards them, aiming his Hand Cannon. He fired; its frame shattered and its bones scattered like pieces of glass, glittering orange in the fire. The woman shrieked as it broke apart, and stumbled back onto the ground. Rudy rushed to her, then helped her up.

"Oh! No, no, don't touch me! I won't let you!"

"I won't hurt you," Rudy said quietly. For a moment, she had him believing he had changed into something as well.

She began to sob, and Rudy looked around nervously. There were screams and unnatural snarls coming from all around, and he knew they had to get out of here, get somewhere safe quickly—

"Let's get to the castle," he muttered, trying to help her up. She stumbled a bit, but she eventually got to her feet, letting Rudy take her along by the elbow. The castle was the only place they would be able to find any fortitude from this.

They ran through the fiery streets, Rudy holding his ARM high and supporting the woman along as he tried to fathom just what was happening and why.

* * *

"Dammit, man, _get out of the way!_" Jack shouted as he pushed an older gentleman over, swinging his sword at the lizard-thing before them. Not minutes ago, the town was bustling with activity of the ruin festival, and next the place was plagued with creatures that had fallen from the sky. Now disarray and chaos was everywhere, and Jack was finding it difficult to protect everyone at once; none of the villagers seemed to have any means to protect themselves—even the men with swords had no handle on things.

The lizard crouched back on all fours, his mace still held in his grasp. He hissed at Jack with a full, scratchy sound, his long tong whipping out of his mouth. Propelling himself forward quickly, Jack lobbed his sword inside its mouth before it had time to react, and pulled it out again deftly. The lizard leaned back onto its knees awkwardly, its hands fumbling at the back of his neck as blood gushed from its wound and mouth before it fell onto his side.

"We need to get out of here!" the man on the ground cried. "Please, sir, take me to the mayor's house. They must have fortifications there!"

"We're not headed to a house, are you crazy?" Jack retorted, pulling the man to his feet roughly. "I'm taking you to the castle. If it's anywhere that's safe, it's there."

"It's too far," the man said, his voice overcome with fear. "Please, we'll never make it—"

"Come on!" Jack led him along forcefully, watching the burning town all around him, wary for threats. He could hear screams and roars both far off and close, but he couldn't see where any of them might come from. A woman scrambled out from behind a house, and rushed up to Jack tripping at his feet and clinging to his legs desperately.

"Please! Help me! It's trying to eat me!"

"Hurry!" Jack helped her up and they scrambled along, him helping villagers as they passed. As they hurried through the streets, Jack came to the realization that this had happened to him before.

_No_. He gritted his teeth and brandished his sword, as if daring a creature to jump out at him so he would have something to slash at. _I won't let it happen again._

* * *

Cecilia ran through the castle towards the entrance after her father; he ordered her detained in her room, but she was able to slip past some of the guards with a stunning spell. Her father was out there fighting, she knew, and she also knew he would be in trouble, knights or no.

They were getting ready to make an appearance at the festival when the sky began to crack and the demon-like creatures appeared. She remembered wondering if she would make an impression, stunning those people who hadn't realized who she was until now, wondering what Rudy and Jack would think if they saw her. The thought crossed her mind that they might actually be furious with her, but she felt enticed by the idea. That was when the worst had happened, and she felt ashamed for it, like she should have known better than to dote on such insignificant things.

"Princess," Minister Johan said breathlessly, running across her path in the antechamber. "What are you doing out of your room? You must return there immediately. It is not safe—"

"Minister Johan, do not dote on me like a lady," Cecilia said harshly. "We are under attack and as this kingdom's princess I think it necessary that I help defend it!—"

"Please, I cannot allow you to put yourself in harm's way," he said desperately, cutting her off and clutching her shoulders. "Stay within the castle, and—"

Cecilia poked him in the side with her wand and muttered the stunning spell once again. Johan's eyes bugged wide for a moment before he fell over like a stiffened board, just as the others had.

"I'm sorry, Johan," she said sternly, then continued on to the front doors. The screams were already flooding her ears, and the sounds of magic and clashing weapons shook the ground beneath her feet. Her fortitude began to waver as her mind's eye showed her sights of her dead father, sprawled out on the ground like a discarded doll—

She burst through the last set of doors overlooking the staircase that led to the town, freezing on the spot out of shock and despair. Many of the same knights she had seen just the previous night were now lying in their own blood, still and lifeless. Creatures were scattered all along the steps, fighting with soldiers and villagers alike, and at the very bottom she could see her father, donned in his old battle armour, take a heavy blow from a gigantic beast and fall to the ground.

"_No!_" she cried, and then all heads turned to her, human and creature alike.

Something pointed to her, speaking in an alien language, and then all of them abandoned their battles to approach her. She drew her wand and sent a bolt of fire into the chest of the closest monster, then ducked her head and ran through the gap it had left , narrowly dodging the swipe of a lizard's mace. She came to an abrupt stop and hopped backwards onto the previous step, missing the swipe of a skeleton's scimitar. It opened its jaws to her and let out a feral roar, and she stuck her wand inside of its gaping mouth, blasting it with another wave of fire. It flew backwards and shattered its ribcage on the steps. The creatures were all closing in on her, but they were far enough away that she had time and space to dash down the steps and land next to her father. He lie on his stomach, his own pool of blood forming, but he was still breathing, albeit weakly.

Cecilia closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on a healing spell, but it kept faltering. Her panic and fear were overwhelming to her mind, and she could not find the concentration to deliver the spell.

"Cecilia," her father moaned, and she clenched her hands and her eyes tighter, trying to conjure the spell.

She heard one of the creatures roar from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see a mace flying through the air towards her. Her eyes barely had time to widen before it closed in on her. _This isn't how it was supposed to be,_ she thought to herself as it came within feet of her face.

Something fast swept across her vision, and a loud clatter rang out as the mace was knocked from the air. Cecilia blinked, trying to register what had happened, when she recognized the shape standing in front of her as Jack.

Before she had time to speak, he shot up the steps to the first creature, upper-cutting it with his blade and twisting around to slash it sideways. As the monster was falling, he was on to the next, stabbing and slicing with quick ferocity. He moved so quickly that Catherine could barely keep up with his movements. Finally realizing that she was safe, she returned to the task at hand and turned back to her injured father, meeting his eyes.

"Please, you can't be here," he muttered weakly. "You must run. They..."

"We need to fall back right now," she yelled over the roar of fire and creature alike. "Please, hold on!"

A loud explosion went off in her ears, and she clapped her hands over them, looking up to see the disturbance. Rudy ran towards the steps with his ARM in hand, a trail of civilians behind him. Cecilia then realized for the first time that several townspeople had made it to the steps—from the help of both Jack and Rudy, no doubt. Dead creatures lie on the path behind them; the two men had fought through the town to bring these people here. They were all retreating now, taking refuge within the castle. They were being driven back, they were losing.

Cecilia stood as Rudy streaked past her, and she took in a deep breath as she gathered her concentration. Pointing her wand up the stairs, she took each creature in her sights, and felt the magic building inside of her like a ferocious, caged animal.

"_Nua!_"

A flash of light burst in all their eyes, and hundreds of bolts flew from the tip of her wand, striking at every foe she had in her sights. Daggers of lightning streaked past all the knights, Jack and Rudy, electrifying the monsters from the heavens and sending many to their demise. The spell ended, and Cecilia slackened in her spot, finding herself immediately drained of energy.

The rest of the men on the steps finished off the remaining monsters, and Cecilia collapsed on the ground next to her father, breathing heavily.

"Milady," a man said worryingly from behind her, but she had difficulty focusing on him. His voice sounded muffled, as if it came through water. She caught sights of Jack and Rudy standing over her, and then she closed her eyes, feeling sleep coming on to her quickly.

_This isn't how it was supposed to be..._ she repeated to herself as her mind shut itself down from exhaustion.


	5. The Tear Drop

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_I'm done school now, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to squeeze out quite a number of chapters this summer! Of course, there's only the two of you who read this that I know of, but us three can have ourselves a Wild summer. Get it? HAH!_

Chapter Five: The Tear Drop

Cecilia awoke with bleary eyes and a splitting headache. She could scarcely remember what she was doing last or where she was. As her vision cleared, she saw the familiar marble ceiling of her bedroom. Her eyes widened. She hadn't been in her room for years.

_What time is it? s_he thought to herself. She felt woozy and jostled, like she'd been stampeded over, but most of all, she felt incredibly hungry. _I must have been casting magic. A _lot_ of magic. _She slipped off her bed carefully, and spotted a small silver plate with a slab of roast and a bun on her vanity. _And they must have known I was casting magic._

Like a floodgate opening, her memory recovered, and she could see the creatures, the bodies, the blood, as if it were all right there at her feet inside the palace. Her father was there.

Everything was so quiet.

Cecilia darted to the door and fought to tear it open. When she stepped out into the hall, Terwillegar and Capilano stepped in front of her. They were both bandaged and pale, with defeated grimaces set permanently in their features.

"Where is my father?" Cecilia blurted out, unable to control her fear. Her hands moved automatically to push the knights out of the way, but they kept her at bay.

"Your father is in his room," Capilano said quietly, "he's resting. The medics are doing all that they can—"

Cecilia pushed passed them more forcefully, then dashed down the hall to the stairs, towards her father's chambers.

"Cecilia!" Terwillegar called after her to no avail. She turned the corner and ran past another knight, who also tried to stop her from entering the room. She had not time to be delayed. _Medics_ wouldn't be able to heal her father to the ability she could.

Cecilia ran up the slender marble corridor and into the wide bed chamber, spotting her father lost between the sheets and linens, small and frail looking compared to the size of the room. Johan stood at the bedside, and two doctors sat on either side of the king, their hands full of bloodied bandages and tools.

Cecilia's breath flew from her lungs in a strangled cry, and she stood rigid on the spot, her muscles so tense she could barely breathe. Her father looked to her, his face pale from blood loss. She expected him to say something, but she could feel the thickness in the air that made it impossible to say anything.

"Cecilia," Johan whispered sternly as he approached her, "you need to stay in your room!"

"I can help him," she shot back hotly, brushing past him towards the bed. "Let me do it," Cecilia said to the doctors, dismissing them with an urgent wave of her hand.

The doctors stood and collected their things, and the king spoke weakly to his daughter. "Cecilia, you're in no condition to be casting anymore spells—"

"I won't have other people helping you when I can heal you just as well, if not better," she stated firmly, sitting beside him. She reached for his hand that rested on top of the sheets, and he hissed, drawing away from her.

"He brokesome bones in his hands," one doctor said to her as they began to depart. "He... broke most of the bones in his body."

Cecilia winced and hung her head. He was severely injured, indeed. She listened to the doctors' footsteps, echoing amongst the silent room, as if testing her fortitude.

"Wait," Cecilia called out softly. "In case... I can't."

She didn't look behind her, but she heard the shuffling of feet as they all turned to watch her carefully. Cecilia looked into her father's eyes, and was scared of what she found there. This wasn't school anymore; she had been thrown into reality in the matter of days, and now she faced the true test of her education.

"I've never done this without my wand," Cecilia whispered to him, "but I should be able to heal most of the prominent injuries. Just stay very still."

He made no sign of assent, but Cecilia could read everything through the way he looked at her. She saw love, courage. Trust. Things she wished she could summon at times like these.

Cecilia peeled back the sheet carefully, uncovering his chest. He moaned softly into his mouth, writhing slightly from the pain. Cecilia let her hand hover over her father's chest, and she let her eyes go out of focus, trying to concentrate on the aura she felt inside. Concentrating her energy, she exhaled slowly through her nose, and whispered: "_Or._"

Casting magic without her wand felt like tightrope walking on a wire, but Cecilia's target being so close made precision of aim unnecessary. She felt the healing magic cascade from her and latch onto her father like an invisible spiderweb, concentrated around his abdomen. He sighed with relief the moment it surrounded him, but something was wrong. She felt as if her essence was being drained the more she poured into him, and before she could even begin to repair the damage done to her father, she felt herself begin to weaken.

_Just for a little while_, Cecilia thought to herself, practically pushing the magic from her body. She caught a moan of pain in her throat and swallowed it; she felt as if all her blood was being drained by the gallon each second she continued.

"Cecilia," her father whispered, "stop."

"No," she grunted painfully, twisting her face into a grimace. "Just—a little—"

Her father reached up to grab her hand, and the sudden contact broke Cecilia's concentration. The spell ceased, and she gasped heavily, feeling the sudden effects of pushing too much magic upon herself. Her entire body was trembling, and the tips of her fingers were numb.

"Cecilia, you look paler than a ghost," her father said weakly, still in obvious pain. "You've done enough for me. Let the doctors finish their work."

Cecilia leaned heavily on her hands beside her father, her long golden hair veiling her face, hiding herself from him. All those years of magic, and she couldn't even cast a simple healing spell on her father when he needed her.

But pride to the Adlehyde family was a scent, and her father brushed her hair gently from her face to look her in the eye to reassure her. "You have saved my life, as well as the lives of many men. You should be proud for what you have done. Now _rest_."

"Sir!" a young knight shouted, bursting into the room. Everyone turned to look at him, and he hesitated, giving a swift salute. "I mean, your highness—we've just received demands from the demons; they want the Tear Drop in exchange for—for the town."

Cecilia stood quickly, her fists balled and her lips taught on her perfect face. She felt incredibly dizzy from the motion, however, and was forced to sit back down on the bed. Johan and a doctor were at her side immediately, gently touching her shoulders as if she were a delicate thing that would break at the slightest disturbance. She waved them off subtly, then waited until her head cleared before she spoke. "Demons? Are you sure?"

The young man nodded. "Yes."

"But the demons are only in legend," Cecilia posed, mostly arguing with herself, "they were from stories thousands of years old."

A moment passed as she thought things over, and finally came to the conclusion that no matter what the circumstances, bizarre or not, she would act when her kingdom needed her. "The Tear Drop is very precious to our family. To me. But... if it is the lives of the kingdom at stake, I am willing to surrender it."

_But why the Tear Drop?_ she thought to herself. She knew it as an invaluable and holy object, but all those beasts outside... what would they do with such a thing?

"Cecilia," her father said, sitting up in bed ever so slightly. She turned to face him, his eyes burning and his face hard as stone. "No."

"No?" she replied, perplexed. "But the kingdom is in danger! We can't just ignore this!"

"Cecilia, the Tear Drop isn't just a family heirloom," he said, his good hand absently clutching at his chest where his ribs had broken, "it is an artifact that is the key to unleashing the ancients."

Cecilia balked, her eyes growing wide. She reached for the chain around her neck and pulled it over her head, studying the small jewel that hung from it. She had been able to open magically sealed doors with the Tear Drop, and that was all she believed was it's extent. It fit in the palm of her hand; so fragile, so gentle, like a baby in its cradle.

"The Tear Drop can only be possessed by a Adlehyde princess," he continued, "by one who hears the will of the Guardians. Like your mother did."

Cecilia watched him carefully, her fingers closing over the Tear Drop. _The Guardians. Stoldark._

"The one who possesses the Tear Drop holds the fate of the world in her hand. Cecilia, you are the Guardian of the Tear Drop. Of the world. You cannot surrender it to the demons, they..."

He sunk lower into the sheets again, shrinking evermore, as if he were slipping away from her right before her eyes. Cecilia reached out to touch him, as if she really were afraid he would disappear.

"Cecilia, stay in your room," he said as firmly as he could, "no matter what happens."

"Princess," Terwillegar said from the front of the room. He and Capilano stood waiting for her. "Please."

Cecilia looked at her father. "I want to stay here."

"The doctors need to continue their work," Johan offered gently, yet sternly. "You need to give them space. You need to let His Majesty rest."

"Father," Cecilia said, clutching both him and the Tear Drop, "be here when I come back."

He said nothing, but he didn't need to. It had been years since they saw each other face to face, but she knew how to read his eyes better than any spell book. She had his eyes, just as round and as crystal blue as the Tear Drop, and they both were able to speak worlds with them. He would be alive when she saw him again, and he would promise it.

Terwillegar and Capilano led Cecilia from the room, and she watched her father for as long as she could before he disappeared behind the two toiling doctors. Cecilia walked forward, clutching the Tear Drop in her hand, feeling its almost insignificant weight in her palm.

She would not let innocent people die over it.

* * *

Jack and Rudy stood in the long corridor amongst a vast number of townspeople. After fighting their way through the town, and saving several people in the process, the guards had escorted them all to the hall. Rudy and Jack tried to rejoin the men going back out to fight, but the guards would not let them through. No civilians were being released into town until the danger was thwarted. Jack kept eying the doorway, working his jaw as the gears in his mind turned restlessly.

"Hey, Hanpan, Rudy," Jack whispered, keeping his eyes on the door where the guards stood, "whadya say we blow this place and go join the ranks on the front line?"

Rudy looked over at Jack, and Hanpan shuffled around inside Jack's coat pocket. "Are you serious?" he whispered.

"Of course I'm serious," Jack whispered back. "We're no good to anybody cooped up in this chicken pen while the foxes are outside destroying everything. You saw how those knights were fighting; we can do just as well, if not better. They could use us out there."

"You do have a point," Hanpan said, "but you also forget that there's three—well, two of you—and who knows how many of them. Fighting isn't all glory and guts, Jack! It's mostly just guts. You know that."

"Quit your worrying," Jack muttered. "If we don't do something, this entire kingdom might go to the dogs. We've got to do something."

"Jack, just because you weren't able to protect your friends the first time—"

"Shut up!" Jack whispered harshly, and Rudy recoiled, caught off guard by the venom in his voice. No-one around them seemed to overhear Jack's outburst, but Jack sighed, apologizing and quieting himself down. "It's not like that. If I can do something to help, I'm not just gonna sit around and wait for them to come bite me in the butt."

"Yeah, I suppose you always need the first bite, don't you?"

"And you always need the last word in an argument," Jack retorted.

"Do not!"

Jack shot Rudy a sideways glance, and Rudy offered a small smile.

"Well, what do you think, kid? Do we bust on out of here and try to save their sorry sights?"

Rudy contemplated. They had saved a good number of townspeople before the castle gates closed, and none of the guards seemed to be doing quite as well in a battle without their help. It wasn't that Rudy was sure that he and Jack were both more skilled in a fight than the knights and guards; rather, he found that they tended to battle in pairs, and a third member made the fight against those creatures all the more seamless. One or two more could tip the scales in their favour.

"Yeah," Rudy said, nodding, "let's go."

"Right, Hanpan," Jack said, pulling his coat open to peer down at the wind mouse. Hanpan peered back up at him with black, beady eyes. "You think you can cause a stir with the guards?"

"I'd feel a little guilty making a scare at a time like this," Hanpan stated, "but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay. You get them away from the door, and we make our escape." Jack searched his memory. "I think we need to head left down the hall."

"That goes to the kitchen," Hanpan said.

"Well, we can't as easily go through the front door; there'll be tons of guards there. Besides, there might be a garden path out the kitchen or something. I'm sure the cooking staff'll give us a tour and everything."

"I'll meet up with you by the inn, then."

"Keep it low profile once you're out, all right?"

"Because all I do is try to get attention in public."

"Quit being a smart ass. Get going."

Hanpan leapt from Jack's pocket and darted across the floor. He was so swift that none of the people huddled in the hall noticed him. When he got to the doors, however, he deliberately stopped and squeaked, peering up at the guards. Before they could look down and get a clear look at him, he burst off down the hall.

To say Hanpan was a wind mouse was an understatement; he could reach speeds that were impossible by human means. The moment the guards looked down, a gust of wind swept past the people down the hall, kicking up dust and loose items in its wake. In less than a second, Hanpan had reached the other end of the hall and was shooting off down another corridor. The people in the room scarcely began to scream in surprise before he was halfway down that hall.

"What was that?" a shrill woman cried, trying to brush her hair down again from where it had been blown up. The guards readied their weapons and began to make chase. "Are they inside?" cried another man.

While everyone was in an uproar, Jack strolled across the corridor and through the doorway, Rudy cautiously trailing behind.

"What about Cecilia?"

"Who? Oh. What about her?"

"Shouldn't we go look for her?"

"She's with her people now. Besides," Jack said scratching his chin, "maybe it's best she doesn't get caught up in any more righteous adventures."

Rudy shot his eyes to the floor in disappointment, then continued to follow Jack towards the kitchen.

* * *

After eating the food in her room and giving herself time to recuperate, Cecilia was heading down the hall towards the ramparts, wand held tightly in hand. Terwillegar and Capilano had left their post at her door after shouts rang out from somewhere on the floor below. She was surprised that they would abandon it so quickly, but she imagined their reasoning included her ability to defend herself, should any danger come her way, whereas the rest of the castle was in a precarious state of peril. As she approached the door leading outside, she broke into a run; she caught sounds of a horrific battle coming from beyond.

As she rushed out onto the ramparts, she could see several knights engaged in a fight with a tall animated skeleton wielding a large and intimidating scimitar. It slashed upwards at a knight, sending him backwards through the air. Cecilia aimed her wand, casting a fire spell, and a bolt of flame shot out right at the thing's exposed heart, causing all the bones to fly apart in several directions. All the knights braced themselves from the flying shrapnel, then looked up to see Cecilia rushing past them.

"Wait, princess!" the knight on the ground called after her, "you need to stay in your room!"

But before any of them could make chase after her, another creature had swept overhead; what looked like a faun with large, leathery black bat wings swooped in on them, followed by two more. Some of the knights wielding bows began to fire at them, while the others took them on in close combat. Cecilia could hear the sounds of their armour being kicked in by the creature's hooves, but she did not stop to fight. She shot another bolt of magic in the creatures' direction, then kept going. She ran past more and more scrimmages between the guards and knights and creatures who scaled the gate and the walls. In the distance, she could see several more flying fauns heading for the fairgrounds.

Cecilia rounded the ramparts to the other side of the castle, then ran down the spiral steps just through the door. She rushed through the halls, making sure to avoid sight of any guards that were around, and finally found herself standing in the kitchen.

"Cecilia?"

She turned to find all the kitchen staff staring at her from over their boiling pots of stew—for the refugees, no doubt—and Montmatre, the head chef, staring at her, his round, plump face shining with the steam from his concoction.

"Why is everyone coming through here today?" a chef said quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Montmatre asked, watching her fearfully, expecting her to have been escaping from demons who had broken into the castle.

"Montmatre, I'm going to need your help," Cecilia said, rushing forward to him. They braced each other's arms, and she began her hurried speech. "I need to gain passage to the sewers, like I did when I was a little girl. Don't look at me like that, Montmatre, I know the last thing you want to give me is entry to the town, but I _need_ to get there. Please, help me!"

Montmatre stared at her for a few moments, his face still infused with the shock he held when she first entered the kitchen. "What I was going to say was, 'I'm glad you're home, I've missed you'."

Cecilia stumbled over her breath, then a smile cracked on her face, feeling uneven and out of place. She was happy to see Montmatre as well, but given the circumstances, she could scarcely feel any sort of joy.

"Please," she said, sobering herself, "there are so many people in danger. They won't leave until this kingdom is leveled. Only I can stop them."

"I know what you're thinking," Montmatre said, placing an unusually soft hand on her cheek, "I've heard their demands. But you mustn't give them what they want. So many more lives will be in danger if you do."

Cecilia only hesitated a moment, considering his words, then shook her head. "You can't stop me. I won't hesitate to knock you down Montmatre." He looked stunned, as if she had already dealt the blow. "I'm sorry, but I'm needed now. I'm going."

Montmatre stepped back from her, and the rest of the kitchen staff stood stalk still, staring at her with wide eyes, like she was one of those creatures outside, storming the castle. She flexed her fists nervously, feeling as if she had transformed under their stares, then headed for the disposal chute.

She pulled the drawstring and looped it around the catch, staring into the black hole in the wall. She wanted to look back at all of them, but she felt the pressure of their stares on her back, and felt it impossible to turn around. Flicking her wand and whispering "_Hyde_," she climbed into the garbage chute, then slid down into the sewers.

* * *

"C'mon," Jack said, holding his hand out for Rudy. He was perched on top of the garden wall, trying to pull Rudy up with him. They had gone to the kitchen, and the staff had turned to stone in their spots like Rudy and Jack were the demons themselves. After some friendly goading, some of the cooks pointed the pair in the direction of the garden, much to Jack's surprise (he didn't actually expect there to be a garden path from the kitchen) and the two of them went weaving through the intricate hedges and shrubs, until Jack found a convenient stone bench placed against the wall to climb up from.

He pulled Rudy halfway up the wall until the younger could swing his own feet up and over the threshold. The two of them dropped down into a thick of trees, and all seemed to be calm and peaceful for a moment, as if there were no creatures rampaging the town.

"I think we have to head that way," Jack said, pointing south. "That'll probably lead to the Castle Guardian."

Rudy nodded without a word, and the two of them set off, Jack clutching the grip of his sword and Rudy hovering his hand over the butt of his ARM.

After a few minutes of running, the ripping, roaring sounds of flame reached their ears, and sure enough, once they broke through the trees, they could see almost every building and structure in sight on fire. The Castle Guardian statue sat in the clearing in which they stood; half of its body had been smashed into pieces.

"God damn!" Jack growled. Rudy looked from the inferno in the town to the sky above. The place where the clouds had mysteriously congealed and cracked apart now resembled an infected wound; the sky around it had turned a pale red, and dark coloured clouds rolled out from the opening, which was starting to close. Either the demons had already left, or they were running out of time to take their portal back home.

"Let's go!" Jack said, kicking up dirt in his wake as he sprinted into town, his sword drawn. Rudy rushed after him, caught off guard by the sudden intensity of his anger. He could understand the raging emotions Jack would feel at seeing the town being completely destroyed, but he did not understand the way Jack's sword hand trembled as he ran. He was a man beyond rage.

They weaved through the burning houses, but all the creatures that had surged through the town not an hour before had disappeared. There was no-one and nothing there. After minutes of running through the buildings, they still found nothing. Jack roared in anger, then kicked the foundation of the burning house next to him, then slashed at it with his sword.

Rudy watched carefully as Jack leaned against the house with his sword held lengthwise in both hands. His shoulders rose and fell noticeably with every heaving breath he took, and Rudy could see the hatred roiling on his face.

"Hanpan," Rudy said quietly. Jack's head rose a little and he froze, as if he were an animal perking its ears. "He's waiting at the inn."

Jack nodded stiffly, then stood up from the wall. He looked completely confused, as if he couldn't remember how he got there. "Right," Jack said, then jogged off around the building and towards the main road to the front gates. Rudy followed him tentatively, his own face etched with confusion, trying to decipher the meanings behind Jack's peculiar actions.

When they reached the main road and started heading towards the front gates, however, both Rudy and Jack hesitated in their step, their eyes growing wide with shock. At the end of the road not twenty feet away, standing by the gate, was a gigantic creature: a demon. It stood at least ten feet tall, and resembled something between a man and a deadly reptile. It wore blue rags like a stranded swashbuckler, and its skin appeared green, but in the light of the fire that raged on in the city, it gleamed black, as if it were made of steel. The thing caught sight of them and straightened, growing several more feet in height. It had large vicious teeth that protruded from its lower jaw, and when it smiled at them, even more intimidating teeth glistened in the firelight. It lifted its right fist, in which it held a large menacing flail on a long, rusty chain. It gave out loud, grumbling laughter, which sounded like two great boulders grinding together, eying the two down.

"I thought it'd be harder than this, to be honest," the thing called after them, its loud voice shaking the ground beneath their feet. "Just the two of you, eh? Well. Name's Belselk. Just come quietly and hand over the Tear Drop."

Jack responded by holding out his sword, bending his knees and glaring at the demon menacingly. Rudy's hand went to the butt of his gun again, preparing to back Jack up.

"The Tear Drop, I said."

"Shut up!" Jack shouted. "I've been waiting a long time for this. I—"

The demon roared, its large mouth agape like a bottomless abyss, its giant teeth shining from the fire. "I really couldn't care less about what you've been waiting for!" Belselk howled. "Hand over the jewel and we'll be done with it!"

"What the hell are you on about?" Jack shouted back, not at all shaken by the threatening glare from the demon. "I don't have any teardrops for you. What _I_ want is revenge!"

"Agh! Humans!" Belselk boomed, swinging his flail overhead. "I wish Zeik would've just let me _level_ this place instead of trying to haggle with you people!"

"Wait!"

Rudy and Jack turned quickly to see Cecilia standing behind them, wand in one hand, and a small blue jewel on a chain in the other. "Don't harm these people. I have what you want," she said, thrusting her fist in the air. Rudy and Jack looked back at Belselk, whose face had twisted into something of a sinister smile. He held out his free giant hand, beckoning her with a finger.

Cecilia walked right past Jack and Rudy, her watched her go with perplexed faces, at a loss for what was happening. Jack tried to reach for Cecilia's shoulder to hold her back, but she shrugged it off harshly, walking towards Belselk as if in a trance.

When she reached him, she dropped the blue jewel into Belselk's outstretched palm, which seemed to disappear in his enormous green hand like a precious pebble in a swamp. He closed his hand over it, then stood tall again, leering down at Cecilia. She peered back up at him, stepping away slowly. "Now, leave this place."

"Hah! A human, giving me orders. If it weren't for Zeik, I would've already destroyed this place, mark my words, princess." Belselk looked up in the sky, and gave his boulder-rumbling laugh again. The three of them looked up to see the strange flying faun creatures flying up into the broken sky—

"The golems!" Cecilia cried, watching as the three gigantic weapons from the festival were carried off into the crack in the clouds by the creatures. As they drew nearer to the hole, a beam of light shot down around them, and they all disappeared without a trace. Cecilia's mouth hung agape, staring at the place the golems had just been.

"At least this trip wasn't a total waste, eh?" Belselk said, chuckling to himself. He stepped forwards, looking up to the sky, as if expecting a beam of light to come collect him as well, when—

"C'mere!" Jack cried, slashing his sword against Belselk's forearm. He had sprinted the twenty feet in less than a few seconds, surprising both his companions and the demon. The thick green skin only yielded a shallow scrape from Jack's attack, but the demon looked affronted, as if the human had just cut off his entire arm.

"You wanna play that game, huh?" Belselk said, leaning forward like a dangerous predator and swinging his flail over his head again. Jack backed up, but still held his sword provokingly.

"You got whatever it is you came for," Jack shouted over the din of the flames, "but I came for revenge!"

"Jack, no!" Cecilia screamed, but neither the demon nor the man paid her any heed.

"Fine, if that's what you want, I'll humour you for a while," Belselk said, slowly rising and swinging his flail faster, "but don't blame me if you snap like a twig under my—"

Just then, a sharp _crack_ sounded in the street as a gust of wind and dirt flew past Jack like a spear and hit Belselk square between the eyes. The demon snapped up straight, howling and clutching at his face where the gust of wind had hit him, and Hanpan leapt on top of the demon's head before the hand closed in on him.

Taking the momentary distraction into play, Jack lunged forward and swept his blade upward along Belselk's belly in a high jump, scratching along its skin and slicing half of its ragged shirt. Belselk roared again, staggering back slightly. Hanpan leapt from its head and scurried off behind a building, while Cecilia and Rudy moved forward to stand near Jack. Rudy raised his ARM, and Cecilia held her wand at the offensive. While Belselk was large and threatening, he was fairly slow in his movements, giving the three an advantage of agility.

After Belselk finally recovered from the attack, he began to swinging the flail again. He eyed Jack with a malicious heat in his eyes, the fire playing on his features dangerously, when he swung the flail down towards him with surprising speed. Cecilia flicked her wand in a downward facing crescent, then flung her arm in Jack's direction. Jack dove out of the way of the flail, but not quite fast enough; however, as the flail came soaring at Jack's knees, it collided with an invisible wall that shone white when the flail connected with it. Jack still felt some of the blow, and went tumbling to the side from the impact, rolling over himself several times.

Rudy raised his ARM, took careful aim, then fired into Belselk's face. The demon shuttered with the force of the fire, and its head snapped backwards as he lost control of his flail. It took a long sweep into the inn beside them, and a huge chunk of the wall came flying out with it on the other side. It swung around towards Rudy and Cecilia, and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her sideways and landing on the ground just as the flail swung over their heads. The inn creaked from the massive chunk missing from its wall, and a loud _thud_ sounded and a blast of dust shot out from the base of the foundation. It began to lean towards the missing chunk in it wall, then slowly started to fall towards the ground.

Rudy helped Cecilia up quickly, and the two of them dashed from under the fall of the inn. Jack rolled to his feet and leapt away with incredible speed, while Belselk turned to see the second storey of the inn steadily falling towards his face.

The building crashed around Belselk, and debris and dust went flying everywhere from the impact. Belselk shook off the remaining pieces of wall from his head, then stepped out from the mess and roped in the rest of his flail, his face etched with annoyance.

Cecilia pointed her wand at Belselk and cried: "Nua!" and a differnt sharp _crack_ filled the air as a bolt of lightning flew from the tip of her wand and hit Belselk square in the chest. His arms folded in over himself, like an insect protecting its underbelly, but he barely slowed in his pursuit. He began swinging the flail again, then swept it wide across the three of them.

Rudy and Cecilia ducked again, and Jack rolled forward under the swing, then stuck his sword through one of the chain links in the flail. The sword bent under the force as the flail came swinging around it like a pivot, and Jack had to use all his might to keep himself from swinging with the great weapon. The blade snapped, but not before the flail crashed into Belselk's left arm, issuing another loud boulder-like roar from the demon. Belselk fell over from the force, and the flail rolled off of him and crashed into the ground with a reverberating _thud. _All of them gawked at the mess of what used to look like an intricate system of metal insides poking out from Belselk's wound. He glared at them, collecting his flail again.

"I don't have time for this!" he barked, spittle flying down on the three of them from his gaping maw, "It's like battling fleas!"

"Leaving so soon?" Jack fired back angrily, holding his position as if he still held a sword.

"You're gonna hafta shape up if you want 'revenge' that badly," Belselk shot back, looking up at the sky again, which was almost fully closed. "Come back when you've got some real balls, kid."

With that, a bright white beam of light shot down around Belselk, and just as quickly is at had appeared, they both were gone. Jack rushed forward to where Belselk had been standing, then cursed, punching the ground.

Hanpan came running out from behind the ruined inn, then jumped on Jack's shoulder. He whispered into Jack's ear, but not quietly enough that Rudy couldn't hear what he said.

"You could have gotten everyone killed. Why can't you get revenge when it's just your neck on the line?"

Jack didn't reply, but Rudy watched him intently, as if he had just discovered a sliver of his past that he was not meant to know.

Cecilia turned from her two companions. She looked upon all the burning buildings lining the main road. It looked as if the sky was on fire as well; the sun had started to set, washing the clouds in pinks and yellows, which was deepened in a haunting way by the thin orange haze of the fire that raged around her. Her kingdom for a Tear Drop.

Raising her wand, she silently began another spell, and soon the wound of the clouds in the sky began to thicken once more, but instead of congealing, they became grey and black. Within moments, a rain drop splattered on her shoulder, and then all around them rain began to fall. At first it was insignificant, but the rain became so heavy that the flames began to falter under the drops. Both Jack and Rudy watched Cecilia closely as the rain extinguished all the fires in the town, putting out the last of the damage. She lowered her wand after the last of the fires died out, but the rain did not stop. She stood with her head hung, the rain drenching her, making her heavier, until she was sure she would never rid herself of the weight.

* * *

Rudy and Jack had led Cecilia back to the castle once a chill had started to set into their bones. Cecilia went wordlessly, but after they reached the gates (to which the guards opened for them with shocked, stony faces) she muttered another spell under her breath, and the three of them were warm and dry, as if the rain they had been standing in was just an illusion, part of a bad dream.

They walked through the castle, and no-one uttered a word to them. Rudy hadn't seen Cecilia's face since she relinquished the Tear Drop, but he could only imagine the pain that was displayed there, for when any of the knights looked as if they were going to say something to her, their words fell dead on their tongues, their faces reflecting the worry they must have felt for the princess that appeared broken.

They climbed wordlessly to the third floor, where Cecilia walked faster and faster the closer they got to her father's room. When they reached it, she slowed, as if she was afraid of what she might see around the corner of the room.

Rudy and Jack followed her slowly as she approached her father's bed. The two doctors and Johan watched her silently, all having the same expression as the knights did in the floors below. The two men stood off to the side, feeling out of place, and Cecilia sat by her father, speaking quietly.

"I'm sorry, father," she said. "I disobeyed your wishes."

The king seemed far off and lost under the covers, but Jack and Rudy could still see the foreboding look on his face. He seemed to sink further into his linens as he replied: "It is done."

Cecilia hung her head again, giving off a strong sense of shame. Johan shook his head sadly from beside the bed, and Jack and Rudy exchanged careful glances.

"But I have decided," Cecilia said, lifting her head again, "that I shall go to reclaim the Tear Drop."

"Princess!" Johan nearly hissed, and the doctors took in sharp breaths.

"This is my fault," Cecilia retorted quickly. "The only way to save my kingdom was to hand over the Tear Drop, and now the only way to save this world is to get it back."

She looked up at Jack and Rudy for the first time, and they, too, felt the shock that all the other knights in the castle must have felt when looking at her surprisingly hollowed face. "But I know I can't do it alone."

Rudy held his breath as Jack shook his head.

"I got the gist that whatever it is you handed over to that demon was something important," Jack said, folding his arms, "but I also have got the gist that you don't know what you're doing. You may be able to use magic, and I admit, I've never met anyone able to do it before, but I've met plenty more people who've had their heads on their shoulders and didn't like to act like the entire world rested on them instead. You've done enough, I think it's time you stood aside and let someone else clear up your mess for you, _princess._"

Cecilia looked at him, her mouth slightly hanging open and her eyes wide, giving her more of a ghostly look than ever. "You... you won't help me?"

"I don't think you heard me right," Jack said, his voice growing firmer. Johan looked enraged, and even the weakened king had a ghost of an insulted expression by Jack's tone. "You've jeopardized everything, as far as I can tell. I'm willing to retrieve this Tear Drop from the demons for this kingdom, but I won't be doing it with you."

Cecilia blinked.

"If I had known you were a princess in the first place, I would have never agreed to work with you. I've never trusted royalty—and you've given me further proof as to why I never should. You lied to us about who you were, and you broke your father's wishes about keeping that jewel safe. You may have saved you kingdom, but it was at the expense of the rest of the world." He stepped forward as to make sure the king could see him, and said, "I will gladly volunteer to get back what was taken from this place. I'm sure Rudy will, too."

Rudy gave a small nod, and Cecilia dropped her gaze, her hair shielding her face. She stood up slowly, her hands hanging limp at her sides, and she slowly looked up into Jack's eyes.

"I lied to you about who I was because I've spent my entire life alone," Cecilia said quietly, yet firmly. "When people see me as Princess Cecilia, they become distant. They never truly see who I am, and that identity alone has kept me from living the life you or Rudy have."

"Dream Chasing isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"That's not what I mean," Cecilia replied calmly. "You appreciated my skills in fighting, and even enjoyed my company—to an extent," she added when Jack pulled a questionable expression, "but the moment you found out I was a princess, you abandoned all those thoughts of me. I cannot be friends with anyone because of a title."

Jack said nothing. She looked to Rudy.

"You understand," she said, "how it feels when people reject you for something they think you are. We accepted you after we discovered you could wield the ARM."

Rudy looked away, ashamed. He did understand her. Completely, in fact. She turned back to Jack, and appeared to be holding back her rage or her tears. Which, Jack couldn't tell.

"You've seen my passion to save this world. Can't you understand how much I need to do this?"

Jack looked down at her, feeling as if his feet were sinking right through the floor. He did understand her passion. He understood all too well the need to fix the mistakes that had been made.

"Cecilia—ah!"

They all turned to see the king writhing in his bed, and just like that, the two doctors were on either side of him, checking his wounds fervently. Cecilia watched her father closely, afraid of what she was seeing.

As everyone watched the king's pain closely, Cecilia retreated to the corner of the room where her father's bloody armour rested on its perch. With slow movements, she picked up the sword that rested in its sheath at the side of the armour, and with a great effort, she lifted it up before her.

"Princess, what are you doing?" Johan called.

Everyone turned to watch her, and Jack advanced to take the sword from her, thinking the worst. Before he could reach her, Cecilia swept her long hair into her hand, pulled it to the side, and sliced the blade through it.

Everyone halted, the only sounds in the room being her father's laboured breaths and the ripping of her hair as she cut it off. She let the bulk of her hair and the sword fall to the ground, where the blade clattered, breaking the silence.

"I've severed my past," she said to Jack. "I'm the princess you know no more. Will you fight with me to reclaim what I have lost?"

Jack stood there, still as a statue, considering her. She could even see Hanpan poking his head out of Jack's coat to look at her. She held her hands out at her sides pleadingly, watching Jack closely.

"If you do this," Jack said, looking from the hair on the floor to her disheveled head, "then there's no turning back."

The room was silent for a moment, when one of the doctors spoke.

"He has passed."

All of them turned their eyes towards the bed, where the king now lay motionless, as if merely asleep. Cecilia looked petrified; she barely showed any signs of breathing, she stood so still. The minister looked between the king and Cecilia, and hung his head. Rudy watched Cecilia's head hang low again, as if she were going to sink into the floor at any moment—as if she wanted to, and never reappear.

It seemed like an hour passed by, just all of them standing there in the room, not willing to move, or simply too afraid to. Finally, Johan spoke.

"The danger has passed," Johan said gravely. "We must honour those who fought and died bravely."

He moved to leave the room, and the doctors followed. Only Rudy, Jack and Cecilia remained, all standing quite still, watching the king, as if expecting him to awake once more and give them more of his direction, his wisdom. But nothing ever came.

When Rudy looked back from the king's peaceful face to Cecilia, he found she had long left the room.


	6. Perilous Journeys

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_Same routine: you spot any mistakes and I'll clean them up. You know who you are, my Grammar Santa. :)_

Chapter 6: Perilous Journeys

The funeral involved the whole of Adlehyde; so many people had died that everyone had contributed to making the coffins necessary for all the bodies, and even more cleared the bulk of the forest on the outskirts of the town to expand the size of the graveyard. The procession lasted an entire day, and the burials another three. In that time, neither Rudy nor Jack saw a single sight of Cecilia. They stayed in the palace in the spare rooms where all the other citizens stayed (whose homes had been destroyed in the attack) and were fed well by the kitchen staff, as they waited on what the princess—surely soon to be queen—had decided they would do.

"I still don't like the idea of travelling with her," said Jack to Rudy, pulling off a piece of his bread and handing it to Hanpan inside his jacket, "she'd just slow us down, having to make sure nothing happens to her pretty little head."

They sat in the kitchen with a few others eating lunch. Rudy watched Jack as he spoke, silently contemplating. He was in favour of following Cecilia on her mission, but he did not voice this to Jack. The older man continued on, discussing with himself the options.

"She is pretty good in a fight... really good, actually," he corrected himself. "She'd probably be the one saving our asses some of the time. But she's such a liability... if she gets hurt, this kingdom's gonna fall, too..."

Jack took a bite of his own bread, staring off into the distance. "We could just leave now, but I don't even know what we're doing."

"I don't see why this is such a big problem for you to figure out," Hanpan whispered quietly, making sure not to attract attention from anyone nearby. "This is _her_ mission. Not yours. You'd be following her into the depths of who knows what hell."

Jack didn't say anything, but handed Hanpan another chunk of bread. The wind mouse took it hungrily, disappearing further into Jack's pocket to eat. Jack stared at a spot on the table, his jaw working slowly, a pensive look on his face.

Rudy watched Jack, but still said nothing. He felt as if the three of them formed a powerful bond, and when Cecilia was gone, something felt incomplete, lacking. He was hoping that Jack felt the same thing and was considering it, when Minister Johan approached their table.

"Jack van Burace?" Johan asked, looking at him imploringly. Jack looked Johan up and down, then nodded slowly, pulling his jacket closer to him lest he catch a glimpse of Hanpan.

"And Rudy Roughknight, I presume?"

Rudy nodded too.

"If you would come with me," he said, motioning towards the corridor.

Rudy and Jack exchanged glances, then both slowly rose from the table and followed Johan down the hall. He led them through an adjacent corridor and up another set of spiralling stairs, then led them into a tall room filled with windows. A large map of the world lined the northern wall, and a broad oak table sat in the middle of the room under it, covered in sheets of paper that resembled strategic maps. Johan motioned them to sit, and as they drew out two chairs side by side, they caught the outline of someone sitting across the table.

The light falling from the windows had made it particularly hard to see that anyone was there at all, but as Jack focused on the person, he saw that it was a boy he had never seen before.

"Cecilia?" Rudy said quietly, looking at the boy with the slightest expression of shock.

Jack then took a double take. It was indeed Cecilia, but she looked completely different from days before. Her hair had been cut even shorter and more neatly, and now framed her face in a plain yet pretty bob. She no longer wore the dazzling white dress she had before, but had traded it for a more masculine dress coat. She nodded to them, a ghost of a smile on her face.

"The prin—Cecilia," Johan corrected himself, "has asked me to bring you here for an audience."

"The Guardian Stoldark has been speaking to me for some time," Cecilia said then, folding her hands on the table and looking at them. "He has been very cryptic in his messages, to say the least, but he has finally given me a message following the death of my father that I wish to share with you.

"He said to me, 'long and hard is the road that leads us to light, but that road must be taken by you to keep this light alive. The burden is yours to shoulder, Innocent One, but the path does not have to be tread alone.'"

Jack and Rudy sat quietly, not wanting to break the silence. She looked up from her hands to them, her eyes serious and strong, the defeated look in her face dissipating instantly. "I know you did not want to come with me, but I'm going, with or without you. Without will most certainly prove more difficult, and I would be in your debt if you two agreed to come with me.

"I know we only met days ago," Cecilia said meekly, looking back at her hands, "but you've witnessed one of the most dramatic changes in my life. You are also two people whom I can trust deeply, and while I'm told that trust isn't reciprocated," her eyes darted to Jack's face and back to her hands again, "I wouldn't want any other companions on such a journey that I must take."

Minister Johan came up behind Cecilia, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I have no doubt that Cecilia has indeed heard the voice of the water Guardian, Stoldark," Johan said. "Her mother experienced much the same thing at her young age. A Shaman Princess. And, therefore, I believe her words to be absolute truth from the Guardian himself. I second her request that you two be her companions on this journey. Not any of the trained knights and guards that inhabit this palace, but you."

Jack scratched the back of his head, then nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I suppose I never had a choice to say no in the first place."

Rudy smiled lightly, and Cecilia shared the gesture. "Thank you, Jack."

He waved a hand, looking flustered. "I figure I still get to call you C."

She laughed. "Yes, you can."

"It is set, then," Johan said. "I will stand in Cecilia's stead as regent of Adlehyde until her journey is complete. The three of you will cross the mountain pass to the west—" he pointed to the map on the wall, and Rudy and Jack turned to see the progress Johan outlined, "and head south to the water village of Milama. A temple to the Guardians exists near there; perhaps you may receive more wisdom for the direction your journey must take if you speak to them directly."

Cecilia stood. "We should head out my tomorrow morning," she said. "My knights will offer both of you new weapons from our armoury. Rudy, I know your skill with the ARM, but perhaps it will be best if you had another weapon to rely on if you happen to run out of... er..."

"Bullets," he offered quietly.

"Yes," she said hastily, "bullets."

"Is there a supply storage here, too?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Johan will arrange everything for us. The town's supplies were reaped in the attack, so they cannot spare too much on us. They will need everything they can use to... rebuild."

Cecilia looked defeated again, but shook her head suddenly, closing her eyes. "I want to help them, but I cannot stay here and feel sorry for my kingdom. For myself. My kingdom needs me elsewhere now—Filgaia needs me."

"Yeah, I understand," Jack said carefully.

"Sir Terwillegar should be waiting for you on the lowest level," Johan said to Rudy and Jack. "He will grant you the provisions you need. Until then, the—" he paused again, the word "princess" catching on his tongue, "Cecilia will need to prepare for the journey in her own way. You are permitted to stay as guests in the castle."

"Meet me at the front gates tomorrow, just after dawn," Cecilia said to them, standing. "We should head out early to make the best of the daylight."

"All right," Jack said, darting his eyes around her. For some reason, he found it hard to look at her directly, like the pain she was wearing just under her sleeve was stinging him every time he tried to make eye contact. "See you later, C."

* * *

Rudy and Jack slept in the very same guest room they had slept in for five days; the family they had shared it with had returned to town to rebuild their home. It felt quiet and empty with just the two of them, but neither of them spoke. Jack lay on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, while Rudy played with his ARM at the foot of his bed, sitting in the warmth by the fire. He opened the chamber, let it spin, then flicked it back into place. His eyes seemed disconnected, like the act was mesmerizing, pulling him into a trance.

"This is pretty big," Hanpan said sleepily from the bedside table. With no other people in the room, he was free to roam out in the open. Jack had made him a bed out of the complementary handkerchiefs left by the caretaker. Both Rudy and Jack turned to look at him, but he seemed to have sighed to himself in his sleep, for he was curled into a tight little blue ball, lost amongst the large white cloths.

Rudy glanced at Jack, and Jack looked over at him, his eyebrows raised. Rudy looked away quickly, returning to his ARM.

"This is pretty big," Jack whispered. Rudy slowly looked back up at Jack. "It's pretty easy to just talk about going out to retrieve this Tear Drop from a gang of demons, but..." he lifted up his arm and let it fall limply at his side again, "it's just too huge for me to really realize just what it is I've got myself into."

Rudy simply watched, not saying anything, as per usual to his contemplative personality. Then he muttered, "I thought the demons were just legend until we saw one with our own eyes. Everyone thought they were legends, but you... you've met them before. Haven't you."

Jack didn't look at Rudy, but merely kept gazing up at the ceiling. Then he said: "I don't know if I'm doing this for me or for everybody else. I'd like to say my intentions are honourable, but... who'm I kidding."

He rolled on his side away from Rudy, leaving his question hanging in the air to fade away. Rudy stopped playing with his ARM, but gazed down at it instead. He wondered the same thing about his own intentions, then slowly drifted off to sleep on the floor by the fire.

* * *

In the morning, Rudy, Jack and Hanpan set out for the gates. The palace was quiet and still; everyone was still asleep, warm in their beds, unaware of the important journey they would be embarking on with the heir to the throne.

They made their way down the marble steps that led outside to the courtyard, then caught sight of Cecilia standing right in front of the gate, waiting for them. She had changed into more travelling appropriate attire: she wore a blue travelling coat trimmed with gold and buttoned with black throngs; a beige jacket could be seen underneath, and its hood protruded from the neck of her coat; she wore a matching blue skirt with dark coloured leggings, and her feet were adorned with hiking boots and thick wool socks. On her back was a pack for their food and supplies, and an elegant looking staff was tied to its side—for walking or magic casting, neither man knew which.

"Hello, boys, Hanpan" she said warmly, inhaling the air and stretching her arms. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

She looked to Rudy, who felt compelled to give some sort of answer. "A little early."

"S'just because you're young," Jack said. "When you get to be my age, you'll be up before the sun is and be rearing to go."

"Yes, I'm a little on the tired side, too," Cecilia said, suddenly trying to stifle a yawn. "Shall we get going?"

She pushed open the gate softly, trying not to make too much noise, should someone from the palace guard be wakened from the ominous squeaking, then they made their way through the town (which looked blood stained in the sunrise) towards the main road entrance.

When they reached the town walls, Cecilia stopped and looked back. Rudy and Jack waited for her patiently; they knew it was some form of farewell for her, and she had been through enough to deserve every inch of their patience for such goodbyes.

"All right," she said, "let's go."

The rest of the morning was spent in silence. They travelled until about midday, when they all agreed to stop and eat lunch. They shared a meal of bread and berries on the lone stone bridge overlooking the Curan Strait. It remained silent until Jack motioned towards Rudy's sword.

"I haven't seen you test that bad boy out yet," Jack said.

Rudy glanced up at him in surprise—he had grown accustomed to the silence—then looked to the sword he had at his side. He had agreed that it would come in handy, should his ARM be unusable, but he was still apprehensive of picking up a blade again. He shook his head in response to Jack.

"Why don't we put in a little practice?" he offered, swallowing his last berry. "I like to think I'm a good teacher; I might even make you competent with a blade."

"Puh."

"Hey, what's your problem?" Jack said, peering into his coat at Hanpan.

"You couldn't teach English if you tried."

"Jeez, you don't have a lot of faith in me, do you?"

"No."

"Anyway," Jack said, rolling his eyes, "we could do it on the way to Milama. Or during our lunch breaks. Does that interest you?"

Rudy gave a small nod. "Okay."

"Okay, then, pick it up," Jack said, motioning to the sword. Rudy looked at it incredulously, then back at Jack with wide eyes.

"Right now?" he said quietly.

"Yeah, right now, what else do you have to do?"

Rudy looked to his bread.

"Oh, okay, finish lunch first," Jack said with mock annoyance.

Rudy gulped down his bread and got to his feet. Hanpan leapt from Jack's coat as the two got ready to spar, and sat on the cobblestone wall next to Cecilia, watching with feigned interest.

"Okay, you remember the first lesson I gave you?" Jack asked. Rudy nodded.

"I'll start with that first, since it's one of the basic attacks any swordsman should know." Jack raised his sword, then came at Rudy with amazing speed. Rudy stepped back out of surprise, but before colliding with him, Jack darted to Rudy's side, holding the blade across his belly.

"Did you see what I did at the last second?" Jack said. Rudy shook his head.

"You were expecting me to just crash into you, and you guarded yourself for the front," Jack said. "Once you did that, I went right for your unprotected side. Changing directions in a fast run is easy if you've got control over your balance and your feet; it's basically controlled falling."

"'Controlled falling'?" Cecilia said from the side.

"Yeah," Jack said, talking with his hands to both her and Rudy. "If you lean forward and put your weight into it as you move, it's like being on the verge of falling. The moment you braced yourself for the front, I fell to your side. You have to make it quick in order to gain the advantage of that one second lag in defence. Try a couple times with me."

So Rudy attempted Jack's exercise, and while he proved to be much slower than Jack on his feet, he was finally able to jump to the older man's side without tripping over his own feet or accidentally bumping into Jack instead.

"All right, you're a pretty quick learner," Jack said, sheathing his sword. "We'll practice more before settling down for the night, sound good?"

Rudy nodded in agreement, then the three of them set off again, this time with conversation in the air at every moment.

By mid afternoon, they had reached the inner mountain pass that would take them to the other side of the country. Two Adlehyde guards stood at the entrance, and they opened the gate once they saw Cecilia.

"We've been told you would come," said one of the guards. He pulled a rolled up piece of parchment and handed it to her. "This is a map of the caves. You will also need—" he turned and pulled out three torches from the barrel behind him, "these to walk through the pass. It gets very dark the further you go in, and there are creatures living in the darkest parts. Take care through here, your Highness."

"We will, thank you," she said, sliding the parchment through a throng in her belt and holding out her torch to be lit by the other guard. When they were all set, the guards saw them off, and they started through the dark, eerie empty halls of the Adlehyde Mountains.

"Things live in here?" Hanpan squeaked, jumping out from Jack's pocket onto his shoulder. "Miserable creatures."

No one said anything. They all seemed to be on edge; they could only see three feet in front of them before the lights of their torches were swallowed whole by the encompassing dark. It was dead silent for twenty minutes, where the only sounds were of their footsteps and their quickened heartbeats.

"Having second thoughts about signing up with us, C.?" Jack jeered, his voice quiet and subdued, as if unsure if he would attract anything by speaking too loudly.

Cecilia replied in a distant and cool voice, "You signed up with me."

They walked along quietly, climbing the slight slope that led to a vast cavern that towered overhead. It was very hard to see how high the ceiling was, but it was somehow definitive by the way the air seemed to expand and their awed voices became lost in the wide open space that they were in a very large room indeed.

"Argh!" Jack yelped, jumping back. Rudy and Cecilia turned to him quickly to see what was the matter as he scuffed his boot on a mass of plant shrub covering the ground.

"That stuff stings," he said cautiously, "watch out."

Cecilia stepped closer to it. "_Devil's Sap._ Did it feel like a shock or a sharp prodding?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"It'll drain you if you step on it too much," she said, reflecting his wariness, "we should all watch our step."

They tread more carefully, watching the ground in front of them as they went. They remained silent as they slowly traversed the dark and empty cave, watching for the creatures they had been warned about, and the Devil's Sap at their feet. They climbed through wide expanses and tight crevasses, and eventually they saw daylight pouring in from the other end of their tunnel.

"It looks like dusk already," Jack said as they caught sight of the opening where the light poured from. "We took a long time getting here."

"We should set camp," Cecilia said, pointing, "just in that clearing out there."

The three of them studied the small patch of grass just outside the mouth just before the ground sloped forward and down a precarious looking path.

"Why outside?" Jack asked.

"So that if we are ambushed, we will not be cornered in a cave," Cecilia said to him instructively. Jack bobbed his head.

"Thought out like a true Dream Chaser," Jack said. Cecilia gave a small, abashed smile. "But we should make dinner inside; I don't like eating in the open."

"Fair enough," she said, and they all set to work.

Cecilia set the tent with the wave of her wand and a muttered incantation, Rudy and Jack collected kindling for a fire, and Hanpan ran off to do some hunting of his own. When the fire was set, Cecilia retrieved some berries and bread from her bag, and they cooked both in a pan just over the flames. The food left much to be desired, but it was food, nonetheless; the three of them knew that there would be times they would have to go without.

After Rudy and Jack practised together for a while, they all slept on their own respective cots in the tent, which was surprisingly cozy for a mounted tarp, and all slept soundly but Cecilia; she lay awake most of the night, staring into the dark, unable to find any rest.

By morning, they set off again, climbing along the steep paths on the mountainside.

"Be careful of the wind gusts," Cecilia warned as they descended a sharp slope, "we could all be carried off the mountain if we let our guard down."

They all stepped lightly, slowly taking their time down the slope. They were all silent for the better part of the hour that they travelled, until Jack broke the silence.

"We were told this place was crawling with creatures," he observed. "We haven't seen a trace of anything. Not even dung or left over dinners."

"I didn't see anything when I went hunting, either," Hanpan vouched. "It's like everything saw us coming and ran for the hills."

Rudy heard an odd burst in the gusts of wind, and looked up to find the source. He squinted his eyes to the sun, but he saw nothing. Then he heard it again.

He stopped on the path and looked around, turning in a circle, but there was nothing to be seen. The other two didn't seem to have heard anything, and he assumed it was a pocket of air in the wind that blew over his head, or something strange of the sort.

As he started walking after his companions again, he heard a distinctive squawk just before something knocked him hard on the back of the head. He lost his balance and stumbled forward towards Cecilia, whom turned just in time to see him tumbling down over her.

They collided hard and fell down in a tangled clump onto Jack. The three of them tumbled down the slope at an alarming rate, crashing hard into rocks and landing awkwardly on their limbs and backs. Cecilia tried to call out to the other two, but neither could answer or could hear her.

Jack came dangerously close to falling off the path and down the edge of the mountain; in a frantic effort to stay on the path, he latched onto a small boulder protruding from the path as he rolled by.

"Grab on!" he called, holding out his free arm as Cecilia and Rudy came closer. Cecilia threw herself out towards Jack and latched onto his arm, and Jack's grip slipped on the boulder dangerously.

"Rudy!" Cecilia called, holding onto Jack's arm while extending her other towards the tumbling boy. As Rudy crossed their path, he reached out to grab Cecilia's hand. The extra weight pulled Jack a little further, and he winced against the pain as he held the three of them fast to the rock by his forearm.

A few moments passed where they all hung together panting on the steep mountainside, trying to collect themselves from the sudden distress. "Everyone all right?" Jack called back to them. Cecilia made a shallow gasping noise of assent, and Rudy called back quietly.

"Hanpan?" Jack shouted out over the slope.

"I'm up here!" He squeaked, his voice echoing down the path. "What happened back here?"

"That's what I was just about to ask," Jack replied, looking down the chain of his companions to Rudy.

"Something knocked me down from behind," Rudy replied, looking at Jack with a little remorse in his face. "Sorry."

"I thought I heard something strange before we fell," Cecilia insisted. "What was it that attacked you?"

"_Jack_!"

The three of them looked up the slope to see a large bird swoop down and swipe its claws at something on the path. There was a sudden _boom_ and Hanpan shot down the slope past the three of them, kicking up dust, leaving the large, human-sized bird that had an odd resemblance to a woman behind.

"Harpies!" Jack cried angrily. "I hate harpies!"

The harpy squawked from up above, then dove headlong at the three people hanging precariously from the boulder. None of them could do anything to fend off the attack. But then...

"Rudy!" Cecilia called out in shock as Rudy let go of her hand and continued sliding down the slope. Just as he expected, the harpy continued to dive after him.

Trying to control where he slid was a bit trickier than he thought it would be, but he managed to keep himself from falling far off from the path and down the side of the cliffs below. The harpy chased after him, trying to approach him close enough to swipe at his head with its claws, but Rudy always slipped away from it the moment it slowed down. Rudy caught sight of another cave down below, and tried to aim his body towards the opening.

A small stone stuck up from the dirt path, but it was large enough to toss Rudy off his slide into the air. He spun over and landed awkwardly on his knee, then sent himself into a dangerous roll that flung him around like a rag doll. He tried desperately to switch onto his back and regain the advantage in his slide, but his world tumbled around so quickly that Rudy could barely discern up from down.

He was suddenly encased in dark and thudded heavily against a rock wall inside the cave he had spotted. He let out a yell of pain from the impact, which sent jolts through his limbs. His head vibrated and small stars exploded from behind his eyes. He heard the swoop of wings, and opened his eyes to see the harpy flapping wildly outside the cave, hovering around the entrance but not daring to enter.

Rudy watched it, confused. It squawked at him angrily, its odd human-like face contorted with anger. After Rudy was sure it wouldn't make chase inside the cave after him, he checked himself. He was miraculously uninjured and his equipment all seemed whole. His sword hung from his side undamaged, and his ARM sat in its holster like nothing had happened. He was sure some of the supplies in his pack was crushed underneath him as he rolled half a mile down the mountainside, but just having a means of self defence was all he worried over at the moment.

He stood up (still surprised nothing had been broken) and looked around the cave. It looked as if the cave descended further down the mountain. This was the route they needed to take.

Carefully peering out and up the slope, he saw Jack and Cecilia still hanging on the boulder far above. They couldn't stand on the steep descent, nor could they let go and risk what Rudy had done. Instead, he gathered as much voice he had, and called out for Hanpan.

The wind mouse appeared in almost a second flat, standing at Rudy's feet. "Oh, you're all right," he stated flatly, as casually as talking of the weather.

"Can you help Jack and Cecilia up there?" Rudy said, pointing up towards his friends.

Hanpan glared back up at him with beady black eyes. "What do I look like, an _Emma Motor_?"

Rudy peered back outside. They were sitting ducks. The harpy wasn't going after them; for some reason its sole intent was focused on Rudy. But they weren't coming down to where Rudy was any time soon, either.

"Can you go talk to them?" Rudy asked. "Maybe we can form a plan."

"I guess so," Hanpan said. "Just cover me and make sure I'm not that harpy's lunch."

So Hanpan bolted up the slope, and was next to Jack and Cecilia almost immediately. Rudy watched from inside the cave eagerly, hoping that by listening hard enough, he could hear what they were discussing. The harpy continued to squawk, hovering relentlessly outside the cave's mouth. Rudy never took his eyes off the distant forms of Jack and Cecilia, though; he was waiting for Hanpan to come sprinting back any second...

Suddenly they disappeared from sight in a shimmering light. Rudy blinked and his heart began to race, when suddenly there was a flash from behind him and a thundering _crack_. The harpy screeched wildly and flew away out of fright.

Rudy turned to see Cecilia and Jack stretched out on the cave floor, Cecilia still clutching Jack's hand as if they were still latched onto the boulder up the slope. Rudy approached them and knelt down beside Cecilia.

"Are you okay?"

Cecilia's eyes rolled around, and her head sagged onto the cave floor. Jack stood up quickly, panting heavily and looking around wildly as if he just experienced the most terrifying moment of his life.

"That had to be the scariest thing I've ever been through," Jack said, clutching at his arms. "I felt like I exploded and... and... _jeez_," he said, shivering from head to toe.

Hanpan burst into the cave, coming to a perfect stop right next to Cecilia. "I can see why that was a last resort," he said, concern laced in his squeaky voice.

"Hey, C.," Jack said, kneeling down. "You okay?"

"Let me rest a bit," she said softly, barely stirring on the floor. She looked completely exhausted. "That was a bit beyond me."

"Crap," Jack said, looking down at her worriedly. "Maybe we should carry her the rest of the way; we won't be long until we get out of the mountains. Hey, by the way, are _you_ all right?" he asked, turning to Rudy. Rudy nodded.

"That was quite the tumble you took," Jack said, laughing shortly. "And quick thinking on your part; did you know the harpy would do that, or were you just going on guess work?"

Rudy shrugged.

"Yeah, harpy's are into shiny objects, and your hair's gotta be the shiniest thing the side of Adlehyde," Jack said. "Not to mention they hate the dark, so I guess it was luck for you that this cave was here. _And_ it looks like the way out!"

Jack patted Rudy on the shoulder. "Okay, I'll carry C. for a while, then you take her after we get out of the mountains, okay?"

Rudy agreed, and he helped Jack hoist the semiconscious girl onto his back. Hanpan leapt onto Rudy's shoulder instead of Jack's as they continued through the cave, and the younger man lit his torch to lead the way through the mountain pass.

It only took about another hour before they saw fire in the distance. When they approached, they saw that it was the opposite gates to the mountains, which looked slightly less sophisticated than the Adlehyde entrance. They saw two men standing guard, and Hanpan dove inside Rudy's vest as they approached. The guards waited until the three of them were close enough to speak to. "You are the two escorting the princess from Adlehyde?"

"Yeah, that's us."

"We heard word you would be coming. We have a few provisions for you if you want them."

"Yeah, couldn't hurt," Jack said.

"Is that the princess?" the other guard asked. Jack said she was.

"You should take her to Milama village," he said. "It looks like she needs a doctor."

"Just a good night's sleep," Cecilia said drowsily from Jack's back.

"Is Milama far off from a Guardian shrine?" Jack queried.

"It's not a mile north of Milama, actually," the first guard said. "I'd recommend getting some rest before going there; it's said that the years of disuse have left the shrine a home to numerous creatures. You will need all the strength you can muster before you go there."

"I hear that a lot, yeah," Jack said, shifting Cecilia's weight on his back. She groaned in protest. "How do we get to Milama?"

"Head straight south," the second guard told Jack. "Follow the mountains and walk through the field between the forests, and you will find Milama at the end."

Rudy accepted the food and supplies the two guards offered them, then headed out of the mountain pass. Rudy found it hard to carry Cecilia on his back, so he carried her in front of himself in his arms (and Hanpan resumed his rightful place in Jack's front pocket). He thought it would be tiring carrying her like that after a few minutes, but as they continued through to the forest field, he still found her just as light as a feather.

"Rudy, your hair," Cecilia murmured, her voice slow and heavily with exhaustion, "it's so black it shines blue... I never noticed before now..."

"Okay, kiddo," Jack said, "you take another nap."

Cecilia complied without a word of protest.

Just before dusk, they found Milama village glittering at the edge of the horizon, ending their first of many perilous journeys.


	7. The Guardian Temple

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_I'd like to extend thanks to someone that goes by the name WhitemageSerenia on YouTube. I've never actually made contact with him, but he has a slew of videos of gameplay from Wild ARMs that I use as a reference. It helps LOTS._

_And, of course, thanks to WildfireDreams for being so cheerfully enthusiastic, and ginormous thanks to Thug-4-Less for helping me polish this story to an ultra-squeaky shininess! I promise you two I'll try to update sooner than I have been. But I stress "try."_

Chapter Seven: The Guardian Temple

Cecilia awoke feeling as if she were suspended in clouds. She looked around dazedly, trying to work out where she was and how she got there. After a few seconds, she sat up to inspect the place further. There were several other beds in the room she was in, all of them empty but hers.

_I'm in an inn,_ she observed silently. She tossed back her covers and stood on the cold cobblestone floor. Her socks and boots were at the foot of her bed, along with her pack and other equipment. Her coat hung on the post just over her things, still covered with the dirt from the mountainside the day before.

Then the previous day's events came rushing back. _I tried the teleportation spell on Jack and myself! _"And now I'm starving," she added aloud.

Casting a cleaning charm on her things, Cecilia dressed herself and took her belongings to the foyer. No one was in the inn except the keeper, whom gave her a warm and friendly smile.

"Hello, dear!" the old woman said. "Your friends asked me to give you a message: they will meet you in the pub around noon."

"Thank you," Cecilia said kindly.

"Oh, no worries, dear. And would you like to leave your things in the room? You're the only guests checked in, and I'll be sure that no one goes through them."

"Certainly," Cecilia agreed, and the woman moved around her desk to take the young girl's equipment.

"The pub is just on the north end of town, in the western corner. They serve good hamburgers there; I highly recommend them."

Suddenly Cecilia's insides lurched, as if her stomach was a sleeping beast that had just been woken up from sleep for good cause. "I think I'll go have some lunch, then."

Milama was a beautiful, humble looking town; it was filled with canals and various waterways that ran around the buildings that were mainly constructed of cream-coloured cobblestone and blue thatched roofs. The overall impression of the town was that it was built upon a lake, but Cecilia later learned that the town was built on an irrigation system, and the canals were converted for mostly aesthetic purposes than functional. However, she spotted a few waterwheels on the sides of some buildings, and she discovered that the waters flowed towards the ocean. Therefore, the town was able to use the flow as a minor power source.

Despite the beauty of the town, Cecilia made her way to the pub with the pace of a person on a mission, without pausing to appreciate the view. She arrived there quickly (Milama was a much smaller town than Adlehyde, and much easier to navigate) and found the place was nearly packed. It did nothing to deter her, however. She pushed her way through the thick crowd, earning some stern looks from patrons, and found her way to the bar.

One man was working frantically at the barrels of ale and wine behind the counter; at least fifteen people sat at the bar, placing constant orders and making the poor man run. Cecilia watched him intently as he ran up and down the bar, serving drinks, as if he was the food himself. Her stomach began to rumble (and she could picture it as a beast roaring for satisfaction.)

Finally, the man made his way over to her. "And what can I get you, dear?"

"Five hamburgers, please." Cecilia said charmingly. "Oh, do you happen to know how to make Curan sauce?"

"I have an idea," he said. "Which table are you and your friends sitting at?"

"Oh, it's just me," Cecilia said with a smile. "I'll just wait here." _The closer I am, the sooner I get to eat it._

The man gave her a wild, bewildered look. "Er—mhm. Yes, all right. It might take me about thirty minutes. That all right, miss?"

Cecilia assented with a broad smile, and sat to watch the man at work.

Sooner than thirty minutes later, the plate of hamburgers was placed before her. The Curan sauce she was so familiar with was actually quite good, as if the bartender were Jaques, the Abbey chef, himself. The first hamburger disappeared into Cecilia's stomach after no less than ten seconds, and as she moved onto her second, the crowd began to disperse.

A table cleared, and Cecilia moved her hamburgers there to eat with more leg and elbow room. The food was delightful to her stomach; the day before had left her menacing and disappointed from the meals. These burgers were certainly making up for where their provisions lacked, and as she swallowed the last bite of her third, she seriously considered ordering several more to take with her on the road.

After a considerable number of the patrons had left, it was much easier to see around the pub and the others in it. As Cecilia looked into the far corner of the pub, she made eye contact with Rudy, who was sitting next to Jack. Cecilia waved happily, chewing merrily on her hamburger, and Rudy waved back, getting Jack's attention. The older man stood upon seeing her, then the two of them made their way over to her.

"Hey, C., we—whoa, eating for two?" Jack said, looking at her rather large plate of hamburger crumbs.

"Excuse me!" Cecilia retorted, flushing from embarrassment. She saw Rudy glow pink as well and shoot his eyes away from her, which made her colour even more. "I may remind you that spell casting costs a lot of energy, and it makes me—"

"Hungry, you said, not a famished village." Jack and Rudy sat down, and Cecilia felt even more self conscious. She had spent most of her years around other girls who had to eat a hefty amount of food everyday, and therefore being around non-magic casters who ate considerably less was starting to take a toll on her self image.

Cecilia slowly chewed her last bite of hamburger and pushed her plate away. "It took a lot out of me casting that spell on the mountain," Cecilia said indignantly.

Jack nodded, but he still had a scrutinizing look on his face. "Anyway, we did some digging while you were sleeping. It turns out that the Guardian Temple has been abandoned and locked up for years—no one goes there to worship anymore."

Cecilia looked crestfallen. "Abandoned? But..."

"But," Jack echoed her, "we found someone who knows a little bit about the place: an old priest."

"What did he say?"

"We haven't had a chance to talk to him yet. He said he'd come see us once everyone else leaves."

Cecilia looked around the bar. "He's here?"

"Behind the bar."

"Really?" Cecilia said, turning to look over the bartender. He looked like he was trying to convince an inebriated old man that he'd had enough to drink. He was short, stout, with a bristling moustache and a glistening bald spot on his head. "Him?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"Well, it's nothing, I just... imagined someone..."

"Majestic?"

"Well... more refined, yes."

"O-ho," Jack laughed, shaking his head and eyeing Cecilia down. "You're mean."

"No!" she cried defensively, "I just thought he'd be easier to recognize as a priest, that's all!"

The old man had finally gotten up to leave, muttering rude remarks about the bartender. The balding man then moved from behind the bar to chase away a group of merchants sipping on ale in the far corner. "We're closing for the afternoon, come back after dinner!" he snapped, and the merchants left the pub with disdainful expressions. He threw the lock down on the door after the last patrons left, and he turned to the three sitting at the table.

"I assume this is your magician friend you were talking about?" the bartender asked Jack, motioning to Cecilia.

"This is her."

"Hm. I imagined someone..."

"Majestic?" Jack offered, smirking. The bartender did not reply, and Jack went on howling with laughter.

"Oh, stop it," Cecilia hissed sharply.

The bartender cleared his throat. "Anyway, what is it you want about the Temple?"

Jack killed his laughter, then sobered up gradually as the bartender sat down with them.

"We want inside."

"What for? The place has been abandoned for close to thirty years. Nothing's in there; nobody has any faith in the Guardians anymore. The place is a crypt."

"And crypts are our speciality," Jack replied, sweeping his hand across the table at his other two companions. "That's what us Dream Chasers do."

The bartender eyed him warily. "I haven't ever had any Dream Chasers knocking on my door asking to get in there. Really, you'd be wasting your time. The only thing you'll find there is dust."

"Please, sir," Cecilia said, folding her hands on the table. "We have a significant interest in the Temple, and we are in dire need to gain access to it. Any help you could offer us would be appreciated."

Jack looked as if he was hiding a grimace as the bartender looked her up and down suspiciously. She ran her words over her mind again, trying to find out what it was she had said to set them off, when the bartender spoke again.

"I was never a priest—my father was. He wanted me to join the priesthood right before they had to close the Temple and leave it behind. Had to leave because of lack of funding, not enough worshippers—something along those lines. Before they knew they had to leave the Temple, they prepped me for joining. After my father passed away, he left me all of his possessions, including the key to the Temple."

He pulled at a chain that hung around his neck, and from under his dirty smock came a medallion that was attached to the end. "I've worn it as a keepsake all these years. This is the only key inside the temple; you'll know how it works when you get there."

He handed the medallion to Jack, who then handed it to Cecilia. "I think it's better if you hold onto this," Jack told her as she took it hesitantly. She ran her thumb over it, admiring the intricate carvings and the thick red cross that was embedded on its face. It felt light, almost insignificant, just like the Tear Drop.

"I don't know what this means, but my father made me memorize it. It has something to do with getting into the real parts of the shrine, if you need to go there:

_The time of the Guardians will arise when the fires of two and ten are lit. Upon the lighting of six, their door will open at twelve._

"I have no idea what it means, but my father stressed it was important to know. He was going to show me what the passage meant before the Temple was locked.

"All I ask of you is this: that place was very important to my father, and I don't want it to be destroyed. I don't have any reason to suspect you three have bad intentions with the Temple, but I will come after you if I find out the place is in shambles. Do _not_ disturb anything."

"You've got our word," Jack said, making a cross over his heart. "We really just need to take a look around. We're not planning on defacing any statues or anything."

"Good. And I recommend you take torches; I know there are places in the Temple that no natural light could reach, so you're going to need some light of your own."

"Thanks, Martin," Rudy said softly, holding out his hand. The bartender, Martin, looked down at it and smiled, shaking Rudy's hand.

"First thing you've said all day," Martin said with a smirk. "I thought you were a mute."

"A lot of people do," Rudy replied, smirking back.

"Yeah, thanks, Martin," Jack said, standing up. He placed a few gella on the table. "You've done us a great service."

"Keep your money," Martin said, waving his hand. Jack shrugged and scooped it back up. "I suppose I should be happy someone's shown interest in that old ruin. Just head slightly northwest until you see a bridge—you can't miss it. It'll lead to a thick of trees. The Guardian Temple is in there, if it hasn't grown into a tree itself already."

"Thank you, Martin," Cecilia said, rounding the table to see him. She took his hand and shook it as well. "I suppose I never introduced myself. I'm Cecilia."

"He told me," Martin said, motioning his head towards Jack. "And I meant no offence earlier, about the magician thing. I was actually impressed that a teenage girl apparently has an aged adventurer running for his money."

"I didn't say that!" Jack said. Cecilia laughed, the usual chiming returning to her voice.

"It's not an hour's journey from here," Martin told them, heading for the door. "If you leave now, you might make it back before nightfall."

"Sounds promising," Jack said, following him to the door. Cecilia nudged him with a smile, and he nudged her back with a mock pout. Martin unlocked the door and held it open for them. They passed by him, thanking him again, and he waved goodbye, closing the door and bolting it once more.

"So, should we stop by the market before we head out again?" Jack said, already heading in the market's direction. Cecilia and Rudy murmured their agreement and followed him. Then Cecilia remembered the nagging question she had nestled in the back of her mind.

"Earlier in the pub, when Martin looked at me suspiciously... what happened?"

"Oh," Jack said, glancing at her from over his shoulder. "We need to give you people lessons."

Cecilia looked at the back of his head, puzzled. "Pardon me?"

"You sound too much like a princess. You need to learn how us simple folk banter." Jack chuckled at this, but then turned to look at her with a serious eye. "You could blow your cover real easy with all your proper speech. Try talking like Rudy or I do, listen in on how some of the townsfolk talk."

Cecilia felt flustered, as if she never thought it possible to make such a grandeur mistake with something as natural to her as her speech. "You're saying I'm too proper for my own good?"

"Yup."

"I see."

* * *

Despite Cecilia's animosity towards Jack's critical view of her language use, she took his advice to good measure. As they shopped in the market place and made their way through Milama, Cecilia remained silent with Rudy, letting Jack talk and listening to the words he used with others. Analyzing her previous experiences, she sometimes sounded "normal" like the rest of the townspeople did, but she started to look back and realize just how separated from others she was just based upon how she spoke. If she really wanted people to see her as Cecilia and not The Princess, she would have to change a lot about herself. It was an irony that was surprisingly easy to swallow.

They were on their way to the Temple after stopping by the inn to collect their things. Just as Martin had told them, they spotted the bridge within an hour. It was thin and worn, and it led across the bay to an island thick with trees that were eerily straight, tall, and dark.

"This doesn't look like the most enticing place to go," Jack said.

"I can see why they lost popularity," Hanpan added. He was sitting on Jack's shoulder, watching the quiet, still forest as they got closer. "Even the trees look evil."

They carried on through the woods quietly, unnerved by the lack of wildlife, or any sound whatsoever. There was a narrow, winding path between the trees, but the trio still had to squeeze between the trunks carefully in order to continue forward. After only ten minutes, Cecilia spotted it.

"There," she said, pointing. They all followed her gesture.

"I don't see anything," Jack said flatly.

"Right there," Hanpan said, "it's covered in moss, or vines. Green stuff."

Jack squinted, looking more closely. He suddenly made out the shape of a wall, and then his eyes started to trace out the tall structure of the Guardian Temple hiding amongst the trees and foliage. It seemed massive, despite being under cover of the forest. He looked left to right to encompass it all in his sights.

"God, this thing looks like a 'thousand year-old ruin, not thirty."

They approached the shrine cautiously, all still feeling irked from the haunted look of the abandoned temple. Cecilia found the door quickly, and when she went to push it, it opened easily.

"I thought he said it was locked?"

"Maybe this is only the foyer," Jack said, peering inside. "Maybe there's another door."

They stepped inside, the light from the open doorway painting a streak across the ruined hall. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust; branches, dead leaves, and even animal droppings were scattered all over the grand hall. The light fell upon one tall statue of a winged woman, her hand extended and positioned as if holding a torch. When Cecilia pushed the door open further, the light landed on another statue next to it, and in the middle of them stood two tall double doors, marked with engravings and crested with gold.

Cecilia approached the door almost dreamily, taking in all the detail etched into the face. Words were carved into it from top to bottom, and ancient runes were carved into lines that ran from side to side, up and down the door. Cecilia recognized them as the same runes she had studied for years in Curan Abbey: the runes that defined the elements, that spelled out the names of the Guardians. She recognized a few of them, Stoldark's included. _I'm close to you right now,_ she thought. _Can you feel me?_

"What's that?" Hanpan said, suddenly appearing at Cecilia's shoulder. She looked to his tiny form to see him pointing at the middle of the door. She followed the lines of runes on the doors and found they all led to a circular impression in the middle.

"That must be where the medallion goes," Hanpan said. Cecilia nodded and pulled the chain from around her own neck.

Rudy and Jack stood behind Cecilia as she placed the medallion into the small impression. Before she even pushed it in all the way, the medallion clicked into its place and sunk inside the door, as if the door had grabbed it from her. The medallion began to spin and sink further inside the impression, and a loud metal clinking could be heard as the entire Temple seemed to come to life around them, like a giant machine that had been turned on.

The mechanical churning suddenly stopped, and a heavy _clunk_ sounded from what seemed to be the inside of the doors. Cecilia reached forward and touched the door gently. It didn't swing forward, but she felt it wanting to move in a specific direction. Using both hands, she clutched the opening of one of the doors, then slid it to the side. Both it and the other door began to slink inside the walls, revealing a wide hall that descended into darkness.

Jack drew out the torches and began to light them from a lighter he extracted from his pocket. "Down we go," he said, as each of them took a torch.

The stairs down looked immaculate compared to the dirty hall they stood in. Truly nothing had been inside the Temple since they had last sealed it shut. It was an encouraging thought to Cecilia, in a way: it meant they would not be meeting anything unexpected while they were there.

They descended the steps carefully as they came into an open hall. The place was large, for even their torchlight became lost in the darkness beyond.

"What are those?" Rudy asked. Jack and Cecilia turned to him and saw him pointing questioningly at a small stone brazier on the floor.

"They're for lighting," Jack said, lowering his torch towards the small copper dish that carried a wicker.

"Don't!" Hanpan squeaked loudly, jumping onto Jack's arm and nipping at his exposed skin.

"Agh! Hanpan! What was that for?"

"What would you do without me, really?" Hanpan retorted sharply. "Don't touch anything until we know what we're doing!"

"Fine, sheesh," Jack said, rubbing his forearm where he'd been bitten. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Let's look around the entire room first, get an idea of what it looks like, before we light anything. I have a feeling this is the room where that riddle comes in."

"The one Martin told us?" Cecilia asked.

"That's the one."

"What makes you think that?" Jack asked.

"I am old and wise, O Thick One," Hanpan replied in a mocking tone.

Jack rolled his eyes, walking away towards the farthest corner of the vast room. "Whatever."

The three of them split up (Hanpan stayed behind with Cecilia) and they all surveyed the entire room. When they were a distance apart, their lights lit up the better majority of the chamber. The ceiling was almost as tall as the grand foyer and just as wide. The walls were lined with stacked pews (which they assumed were stowed away to the side after the Temple was to close) and a lone pedestal stood near the front of the room, looking small and insignificant. After some searching the plainest thing to see was that there was another set of double doors opposite the stairs the had come from, and spread across the large room were twelve small braziers, all lined in a perfect circle along the room.

"Two, ten, six, and twelve. There's twelve of them, but which is which? They have numbers on them or something?" Jack spoke loudly across the room so everyone would hear him. He bent over and examined the closest brazier to him. There was nothing engraved on the stone.

"I don't know," Hanpan said, standing on Cecilia's shoulder and scanning the room thoughtfully. "I don't know."

Cecilia scanned the room with Hanpan, her face scrunched in concentration as she tried to figure out the meaning of the numbers as well. They had to have some sort of connection with the twelve braziers, all lined in a perfect circle.

"_The time of the Guardians shall rise when the fires of two and ten are lit..." _Cecilia muttered to herself. _Which one is two and which is ten_?

She pulled her pocket watch from inside her coat pocket. It had been a gift from one of the instructors at the Abbey for her birthday. It had a few magical properties to it, giving it the same unique functions as Rudy's enchanted bombs, but she found its most useful function was telling her the time. It was ten after four in the evening.

Her eyes stayed glued to the minute hand. It was pointing at two.

_The time of the Guardians..._

"Jack, light the brazier you're standing next to," Cecilia called from across the room.

"Why?"

"I want to try something."

Jack shrugged and lit it. "What are you doing?" Hanpan asked quietly.

"I think I figured out the puzzle," Cecilia said.

"Okay, now?" Jack asked.

"Rudy, you light the one across from you. No, no, the other one. Yes," she said, pointing as he motioned to the one she was indicating. "Light it."

Rudy did, and she moved to the brazier closest to the stairway, the one that would have indicated "six" on her pocket watch. She lit it, then stepped around the brazier and walked across the room with intention in her step. Rudy and Jack watched her as she marched up to the top most brazier in the circle that sat opposite the double doors.

"Light the fires at two and ten..." she said, approaching the brazier. "Upon the lighting of six—" she lowered her torch to the wicker—"their doors will open at twelve."

The brazier caught the flame, and suddenly all the wickers in the room lit up with a roar, flames sprouting into the air. The large double doors in front of them creaked as the same mechanical churning echoed from all around them, and they slowly swung forward.

"How'd you figure that out?" Jack asked from behind her, his voice distant with surprise and awe.

"It was about 'time'," Cecilia said. "Those numbers were representative of a clock. And the numbers formed the red cross the priests recognized as a divine symbol."

"Smart," Jack said. "You thought of it before Hanpan did, too."

They all chuckled a little before Cecilia turned her attention again to the wide open doors. It was just as dark beyond as the rest of the temple had been, and nothing could be seen inside. She stepped toward it carefully, and Jack and Rudy followed her. Even though it was guaranteed there were no possible threats living inside the abandoned temple, the two of them held their hands over the hilts of their weapons, ready for any sort of attack.

The room beyond was much smaller, and the first glimpse Cecilia caught of the room was a reflection of herself. When they stepped further inside the room, they found that the entire wall across from them was a grand mirror, stretching from ceiling to floor. Cecilia stared into it, her astonished face reflecting back at her.

"This is it?" Jack said. "We came here to try and talk to some Guardians, and we find a mirror?"

"Don't you see it?" Cecilia asked. Jack looked back at her.

"See what?"

A glowing figure was standing behind Cecilia's reflection. She watched it carefully, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She knew nothing was behind her based on the fact that Jack nor Rudy seemed to be aware of the figure. It took no distinct shape, but it was tall and lean, almost as if it were a human. In the mirror it touched her shoulder, and Cecilia felt an odd electric sensation shooting through her arm. It wasn't painful, rather it was drawing. It gave her a pulling sensation that she felt she wanted to bask in. However, the shape let go of her shoulder and slipped around her, drawing closer and closer to the mirror, until it disappeared, leaving ripples behind it, as if it had softly sunk beneath water.

"Wait!" Cecilia cried, rushing forward. Hanpan leapt off her shoulder in surprise, and Cecilia dropped the torch as she dashed into the mirror.

"Whoa!" Jack shouted, expecting her to smack into the mirror and crash onto the ground. But Cecilia disappeared without a sound.

"C.?" Jack called, panic in his voice.

"What happened?" Hanpan asked, looking at the torch Cecilia had cast aside.

"She just disappeared!" Jack said, sounding doubtful of his own words. He approached the mirror, but was afraid to touch it. "C.!"

"We should try to go after her," Rudy said, his voice quiet as usual, but with a tinge of agitation hidden underneath.

Jack wanted to protest against Rudy, but as he looked into his own reflection, he swore he saw himself give an encouraging look, one he himself did not wear.

_What is this place...?_

"Jack, let's go!" Hanpan cried.

Jack searched his face in the mirror one last time, finding it was still his own face. He shook off his fears, gritted his teeth, and ran at the mirror as soon as Hanpan jumped onto his shoulder and Rudy dove into the mirror next to him. He expected to collide with the pane, just as he had expected Cecilia to, but a cool sensation enveloped him and he suddenly felt as if he was sinking into unconsciousness. As he tried to call out for Rudy and Cecilia, his mind shut itself down.


	8. The Last Alliance

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_I almost called this chapter "Getting My Ass in Gear"._

Chapter Eight: The Last Alliance

Cecilia did not feel as if she had just awoken, but she felt as if there was a significant gap between her last memory and the moment she was in now. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she played the scenario over in her head—she had seen the figure walk through the mirror, and she suddenly felt—no, _knew—_that the figure was Stoldark. She followed it, and now she was standing in darkness.

_No, my eyes are just closed._

She suddenly became aware that she was in fact in her own body (feeling as if at one point she hadn't been) and opened her eyes. An involuntary gasp escaped her as she observed her surroundings. She was standing in the old, ruined library in Curan Abbey, lost amongst the labyrinth of shelves. She looked down at herself, and found that she was still wearing the clothes she had come to the Temple in. _No, I was checking to see if I was in my own body._ _Why?_

She looked around the aisle, still feeling confused and disoriented. _Why am I here? _"Hello?" she called out. Her voice echoed against the high ceiling, leaving her behind with no reply. She walked to the end of the aisle and looked up and down the hall in between the shelves. It looked just as it had when she first entered the Sealed Library about a week before.

"Hello?" she tried again. There was no one and nothing there.

Cecilia walked through the hall that stood in between the grand shelves. There was a book that lay discarded on the ground, leaning against one of the cases. She bent down to look at it, then flipped through the pages. _It's real_.

"The Guardians," she whispered to herself. She looked around expectantly, as if in hopes Stoldark to appear and tell her why she had been taken back to this place. She decided that the only way forward would be to make her way through the library in the same fashion she had before.

Cecilia stood and made her way through the rows towards the back of the library. She didn't know whether or not she would see a door in the wall or not; when she had first made her way through the trying library, she had to unlock the door through a series of obstacles. When she breached the end of the row, she peered around the corner to find the door was not there.

_I'm going to have to unlock it again,_ she thought to herself. She knew that it was a trial, that she was being challenged. _What am I going to find down there, Stoldark?_ she thought, hoping he might answer. Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, she went to work finding the books that would open the way to the lowest part of the library.

* * *

"How in the hell did we end up back here?" Jack asked Hanpan. He was standing in the dark, empty halls of the Temple of Memory; the walls were dusty and the halls echoed their voices ominously. Jack knew it had to be an illusion, but the place felt so real, as if he had been transported back to the place. He knew that he hadn't been teleported; whatever had happened to him had felt much different from when Cecilia teleported them down the mountainside. But the ruins were just too real to be an illusion.

"I think we're just seeing a projection from our memory," Hanpan said. "Maybe this is what the Guardians want us to see."

"Couldn't imagine why," Jack said. "S'not like I learned a whole lot in here."

"It's not what you experienced here so much as what they can challenge you from here, probably. Let's try and find our way out at least."

"Right. Well, it's darker in here than I remembered, but at least it's not night out." The Temple was completely without light other than what poured in from the vents and openings in the ceiling from outside. Jack walked along slowly until his eyes adjusted and he could properly see his way around.

"Do you think the others are here, too?"

"No, I'm pretty sure this is your memory. They wouldn't be here; I think they're in their own memories somewhere else."

"If you say so," Jack said sardonically. They walked on in silence, following the hall to the next corner. Jack hoped when he reached the end, he would recognize what part of the temple he was in, and he could find his way out.

"I don't remember a hallway this long," Jack said warily.

"It keeps going..." Hanpan replied.

They kept walking on fruitlessly; Jack was starting to get annoyed with these so-called Guardians that seemed only to want to toy with his mind.

"Who's there?" Hanpan asked Jack quietly.

"Huh?" Jack peered into the dark, trying to see what Hanpan had seen. He caught a glimpse of red disappearing behind a corner that he was sure wasn't there before.

"Hello!" Jack held the hilt of his sword defensively as he advanced around the corner. When he peered around the wall, he saw the glimpse of red again, and he was certain it was someone's hair.

"Elmina?" he whispered quietly.

"What? You mean..."

"Let's go," Jack said quietly and seriously, advancing down the hall after her.

* * *

The further Rudy travelled down the cave, the more uneasy and frightened he felt. It wasn't the cave itself that caused him anxiety, but the uncertainty of what he would find there. He knew that he wasn't inside the physical cave itself, that he was just imagining the place. But he also knew that since it was an illusion, he wouldn't know what he would find at the bottom of the place. The first time he had been there, he was determined to save Tony, a small boy who had dared the cave in order to find berries to help his father. He had told Cecilia and Jack that the villagers had seen how he saved Tony, but he didn't tell them that it had scarred him permanently. That moment was one of the worst in his life, and he was certain that whoever or whatever was showing him the cave was going to show him another reason to hate himself even more.

"Rudy!" He heard Tony calling him from further down the cave. "Rudy, help!"

He hesitated for only a second; illusion or not, he could not ignore a call for help. Rudy rushed through the cavern, climbing carefully through crevasses and over boulders that lay scattered in the dark tunnels. Tony's voice became clearer and clearer, and once Rudy rounded the last corner, he could see Tony standing in the glowing pool in the room filled with Holy Berries.

The boy was crawling backward through the shallow pool away from the towering zombie that advanced on him. Rudy reached for his ARM, aiming carefully before he fired. The zombie stumbled, yelping and clutching its oozing wound on its arm. Rudy raced by Tony, drawing his sword, and ran it through the zombie's middle.

He wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly the zombie was human size. Rudy's blood chilled as he found himself standing before his grandpa, Zepet Roughknight, his sword buried to the hilt in his gut.

"Rudy," Zepet whispered, "you don't belong here..."

Rudy's hands had gone numb, and he let go of the sword, letting Zepet fell backward into the pool, water and blood splashing up onto Rudy. Even though it was all an illusion, Rudy could still feel the wet on his clothes, the blood on his hands, the disbelief clutching his heart.

"You scare me," Tony whimpered from behind him. "You're no different from the monsters!"

Rudy turned to face Tony, which issued a terrifying shriek from the boy.

"Wait," Rudy said, reaching out his hand to try and calm him. But it wasn't his arm he extended—it was scaled and rough looking. He stared at his arm in shock, then looked down to the rest of his body. He fell to his knees, splashing water everywhere and sending ripples outward. Tony was still shrieking, but all he could hear was whispers coming from all directions.

_The ARM is an ancient technology used by the Demons. You're no different from them._

_You are a blight to Filgaia..._

_You don't belong here._

When the water cleared and the ripples died down, Rudy could see his own ugly, deformed reflection in the pool.

_No!_ he tried to scream, but his voice would not come. He suddenly sank into the water and kept falling.

* * *

Jack was running through the halls of the temple, dodging attacks from creatures that had appeared literally from the shadows. They were the same monsters that had devastated Adlehyde, the ones that had come with the Demons.

"Jack!" Hanpan shouted over the shrieks and howls of the monsters around them, "stop trying to fight them!"

Jack wanted to argue, but he obliged his friend's words. They ran past two flying fauns that swooped down on Jack, missing him by mere inches. Jack was suddenly able to make out the end of the hall, and he could see light shining down on a majestic looking sword that stood lodged in the ground. He had no idea of what it was, but something clicked in his brain, and he was certain that the sword at the end of the hall was the Absolute Power he had been searching for for so long.

"We just need to get that sword!" Jack bellowed. He pumped his legs harder; he focused on the sword with so much intensity that he had nearly drowned out the sights and sounds of the creatures coming after them. Desire had taken him over, and he was more than determined to reach the blade. The need to reach the Absolute Power was so intense that he had forgotten he was in an illusion.

Jack lunged for the sword and tugged on it, trying to relinquish it from the ground. All the creatures were gathering on them quickly, and Jack had only moments before they swarmed him from behind and overwhelmed him.

"Jack!" Hanpan called shrilly again.

Jack pulled the sword from the ground and held it in both hands triumphantly. He had no time to turn; the creatures were right at his back. Before he even devised a plan of attack, however, the sword became sweltering hot and extremely heavy. Jack was pulled to the ground with the weapon, but he did not let it go at first. It yanked itself from his grasp and plummeted through the ground, which had become a bottomless pit of black. Jack watched it go with fury, the burning in his palms barely noticeable through the rage that had overcome him. _It was mine, I was so close!—_

He then realized that he was lying on nothingness, floating in black. "Hanpan?" he called out, but heard nothing. He looked around desperately for his friend, but the darkness was impenetrable. "Hanpan!"

_Another friend that you left behind,_ a soft and cold voice said. Jack looked around wildly for the speaker. He knew that voice.

"No, I didn't leave him—"

_Because you needed the Absolute Power. You've always been in need of power. Can you remember a time when it was not necessary?_

_You look for another source of valour, because you haven't the courage yourself to face up to what you've done._

_You've spent a lot of your life looking for a reason to avenge someone. You've let a lot of your friends fall in order to fulfil that need within yourself. You're a danger to everyone because you're a coward. You can't protect a thing._

"Everyone..." Jack felt the overwhelming despair coming over him again. It had been so long that he kept it buried that he had forgotten the sorrow he held for what had happened so many years ago.

_This is where you belong._

"Elmina..."

* * *

Cecilia had unlocked the door and made her way through it without any problems or attacks. However, it only served to make her more anxious: the longer nothing leapt out at her from the shadows, the more nervous she became.

She descended the winding steps slowly, but they seemed to keep going on forever. After what felt like hours, Cecilia came to the bottom of the steps. It was not the bottom room of the Sealed Library she stood in, but in the Grand Hall of Adlehyde castle. She froze in shock, staring into the faces of all the knights and guards that she had grown up with. They stood like statues, watching her with blank faces and accusing eyes. Cecilia felt she could barely move for a moment until her eyes fell upon the throne.

"Father..."

He did not reply. He held the same expression as everyone else did, staring at her with sharp eyes. She advanced into the hall slowly. _This is just an illusion, Cecilia... but it looks so real, it feels so real..._

"Stop there," the king said.

Cecilia halted in her tracks. All the palace guard had turned to stare at her. Everyone was watching.

"You have a duty to uphold as a princess," Capilano said next to her.

"Everyone counts on you to act as a princess," Terwillegar added.

All at once, all of them started muttering directions to her of just what a princess should do, how she should act, who she should be. She stood stalk still, listening to the odd sound of their muttering, but not taking any of it in. She watched her father, terrified of how alive he looked. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

"No, father..."

"You are no one," he said quietly. The others' voices should have drowned his out, but she could hear him clearly as he shattered her heart. "You are an archetype. You always have been."

He sounded bored, distant. _It's just an illusion._

_But it's true._

"Please," she muttered, the voices of the others growing stronger.

"No one loves Cecilia; they embrace the princess."

Cecilia turned to see herself standing in her pristine white dress with flowing blonde hair. She held her hands in front of herself as she smiled delicately. "No one loves you because you are a thing incapable of love."

"Stop it," Cecilia told her image, clenching her fists.

They never called her by name.

Cecilia stared at her reflection, and the girl smiled back deviously as she felt her world collapsing.

* * *

Cecilia felt like she had been sitting on the stone cold floor for a long time, like she had been dreaming and lost track of just how she had gotten there. She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. It was dark where she was; it seemed like she was floating on an island, and infinite space surrounded her. She looked up to the ceiling. There was a mirror there from which light seemed to pour—the same mirror she must have walked through before she was pulled into the illusion. In the reflection she could see the vague forms of two other people sitting on the island with her.

She slowly looked over her shoulder at the other two. They were sitting in similar fashion as she—their knees drawn in, their shoulders slumped, their heads hung. Wherever they had been, they had seen just as unnerving things as she had. Truths about themselves they did not want to know.

"Rudy. Jack."

They slowly looked over at her. They stared at each other silently, each contemplating what they had just been forced to recognize about themselves. Finally, Jack spoke.

"Hanpan?"

"I'm right here," the wind mouse said weakly.

Jack looked into the inside pocket of his jacket to find Hanpan curled up in a small ball. "I thought I'd lost you," Jack said.

Hanpan didn't reply. They all sat quietly for a moment longer, the sadness and defeat still too heavy to say anything to each other.

_This is the girl Stoldark has chosen?_

Cecilia perked and lifted her head. It had been a while since she had heard a voice like that in her mind, but it was not Stoldark speaking.

_Her mind is weak, her will is nonexistent. Her and these humans are not strong enough to fend for Filgaia. Is this truly the best we can do for the planet's future?_

"They're angry..." Cecilia muttered.

Jack and Rudy turned to her. "What?" Jack asked.

_We have no other choice. There is no other hope in the world._

"They doubt us..." Cecilia said. "They've seen through us."

"Who?"

"The Guardians..."

_She hears us._

Cecilia looked around the room, as if she would see the Guardians somewhere in the room. "Are you here?" she asked out loud.

_Yes._

The room darkened. Jack let out a hiss of surprise, and Cecilia knew it wasn't just her illusion. There was an odd glow that seemed to emanate from nothingness, and Cecilia turned around to see a magnificent creature standing before her. It appeared to be like a mythical dragon with crystals sprouting off its back. Its gaze was almost malicious, but Cecilia felt no fear in its presence. It was a strong and benevolent being. It spoke the words directly into Cecilia's and the other's minds.

_I am Gurdijeff, the Earth Guardian. You humans have come here under the guidance of Stoldark._

Another creature appeared out of nowhere—this Guardian was a grand bird that seemed to be completely composed of flame. _You humans are weak, but we seem to have no choice but to rely upon you. I am Moa Gault, the Fire Guardian._

A third figure appeared: a white tiger with vicious fangs but a soothing appearance. _I am Fengalon, the Wind Guardian. Humans, we are in need of your aid._

"You were the ones to put us through those illusions, weren't you?" Jack said viciously, his voice sounding small and dull compared to the voices of the Guardians in their minds. "Damn you! Why are you toying with us if you want our help?"

_We could see your weaknesses, but you could not,_ Moa Gault replied. _You cannot begin to be able to defend others if you cannot first recognize your own faults._

_Us Guardians do not have the strength to defend Filgaia from the Demons,_ Gurdijeff added gravely._ They have suddenly taken action after nearly a millennium, and since, our strength has been drained. You three are our only hope now._

"Please," Cecilia started, staring up at the Guardians pleadingly, "I've come to ask you for guidance. I've given the Tear Drop to the Demons, and I don't know how to get it back."

_You've been drawn here for that reason, _Fengalon answered. _The Tear Drop is a source of life—our life. The Demons intend to revive their Mother with that power. If this happens... Filgaia will be engulfed by her greed._

"Mother..." Jack repeated angrily.

_We will send you into battle with the last of our power,_ Moa Gault declared. _We will give you the strength you need to reclaim the Tear Drop._

"Wait, we don't stand a chance against the Demons!" Cecilia called. "If we go against them, we will fail!"

_There is little other option, _Gurdijeff said. _If we do not stop the Demons now, there is little hope in stopping them in the future. We will give you the ability to summon our essence into battle, but this is the extent of our help._

"I'll take your power," Jack said determinedly, "I'll kill them all..."

Moa Gault scoffed. _Human, you are weak. You desire power not for others, but for yourself. Remember the fate of our world is resting on your shoulders._

_There is no more time to spare,_ Fengalon said sternly. _Gurdijeff, we must send them now._

"You're going to send us directly to the Demons?" Cecilia asked in awe.

_Show us your faith, humans,_ Gurdijeff said. _Go forth and strike them at the heart!_

Cecilia began to feel a peculiar pulling sensation, just like the feeling of casting the teleportation spell. The pull was slower, however, and Cecilia could feel the vast amount of energy that was going into the magic.

"Gurdijeff!" Cecilia called out.

_To reclaim the Tear Drop, we—_

A shock ran through Cecilia's body suddenly, like dark electricity, as if every part of her body was on verge of exploding. The pain was immense and full, and Cecilia thought that no pain could have ever existed—

* * *

It felt like it could have lasted only a second or several days, but suddenly the pain vanished. Cecilia lay limp, breathing slowly and trying to recollect herself.

She suddenly realized that she was no longer suspended in nothingness. She was lying in the grass, and a gentle breeze was blowing through her hair.

"Are you okay?" Rudy said from above her.

She squinted up at Rudy, whose face was silhouetted by the sky. _The sky... are we there?_

"Where are we?" Jack said form somewhere to Cecilia's left. Rudy helped her up to her feet. Jack came over to join them, looking around the clearing they had landed in. They were somewhere warm, in the middle of what looked like a small forest.

"Is this where the Demons are?" Jack asked, his hand resting dangerously on his sword. Cecilia furrowed her brow.

"No, they were interrupted by something..."

"By what?" Jack asked, his voice demanding. He sounded incredibly angry, as if pure hate flowed through him.

Cecilia tried to remember. Gurdijeff was about to transport them to where the Demons held the Tear Drop, but something had gone wrong. In the middle of the spell, something—or someone—had interrupted the process.

_...Dark Spear..._

"The Demons," Cecilia said. "They knew we were coming. They attacked us."

"Is that what that shock was?" Jack asked.

"Yes... and Gurdijeff was forced to bring us somewhere else."

"So, all of that bullshit about facing our faults was for nothing? They sent us all the way out in the middle of nowhere to fight Demons that aren't even _here_?"

"Jack, calm down," Cecilia said. Jack kicked at the ground and walked away. Cecilia returned to her thoughts, trying hard to remember what had transpired after they were shocked. She knew something had happened, that Gurdijeff had explained to her what they were about to do...

She opened her palm suddenly. Rudy circled her in order to look at the objects in her hand. "What are those?"

"They're the essence of the Guardians," she said, looking at the tablets as if they were small children. "The last of their powers."

Rudy looked at her with worry on his face. "What are we going up against?"

Cecilia remembered the vague direction she was given at the last moment. "There should be a village to the north of here. We need to speak to someone there."

* * *

Zeikfried stood in front of the Incubator, staring at the cocoon with worry. The Guardians had breached the Photosphere. He had felt Gurdijeff's mind inside the room only moments before. He had struck back, but he had felt something else...

_They have the humans now._

"We've shut off any possible scans coming into the Photosphere," Lady Harken said from behind him. She had always been silent when materializing in another room; Zeikfried scarcely had time to recognize she was there before she spoke. "But they had the humans with them."

"I know," he replied. He turned towards Lady Harken. She was slightly more petite than the rest of the Demons, but given her unusual birth as a Demon, it wasn't unusual. She was covered in light and sustainable armour, and her scythe rested on her belt, the handle fully retracted to make it easier to carry around. Zeikfried never saw her go anywhere without her scythe, just as he always carried the Dark Spear on himself at all times.

"But there is nothing to worry about, my lord," Alhazad spoke into his mind. Zeikfried watched the thick, eerie white glow expand to his left as Alhazad materialized inside the room with them. He was a ghastly looking animal, but he kept himself covered in a huge white garb and an ancient head covering made for him in their old home, Hades. Zeikfried was still repulsed by his appearance, however, because he still knew what his brother looked like under his disguise. "The Guardians' powers are spent, and all they have left to rely on are the weak. Without the Elws on their side, they don't stand a chance."

Zeikfried could see Belselk approaching them from the entrance; he was the only one who had considerable difficulty materializing anywhere, and usually travelled on foot anywhere he went. His iron-like skin gleamed in the unnatural lights around the Incubator, and Zeik's lip curled under his helmet in disgust. "I'm already anticipating the feel of their snapping bones under my flail... heh, come on, Zeik, why not let them come? We could destroy them now."

"Your actions are rash," Lady Harken retorted in her cold voice. "To bring them here would create a hazard. In addition, we could have received the Tear Drop without so much destruction on your part. Your methods are sloppy."

"Agh, what do you know, you newbie?"

"Enough," Zeikfried said. They all looked to him. "The Guardian's minds are now locked out of the Photosphere, and the humans with them. Now the Guardians will be sending the humans to each of the three seals. We've bought ourselves some time, but we must not underestimate what these humans can do. We must reach the Guardian Seals before the humans do, or else our plan to revive Mother will take much longer."

"Excellent," Belselk said fervidly. "I'll take the first one. I've been dying to see those little shits again..."

"Do _not _fight them on your own," Zeikfried demanded. "Take one of the Surrogates; you obviously couldn't handle the humans yourself the first time."

Belselk looked at Zeik with as much disgust as his already twisted face could convey. He turned and left the room, growling under his breath as he did so.

"Oh, dear. I was hoping to meet our new human friends sooner," Alhazad said serenely as he faded out of the room.

Lady Harken gave Zeikfried a curt nod before dissipating herself. Zeikfried sighed, turning back to the Incubator. The Quarter Knights were a bit of a haphazard mess, but they were all he had for the defence against the Guardians and their newly found alliance with the humans.

He stared at the cocoon longingly. It sat suspended in the Incubator peacefully, pulsating gently with the weak amount of life it had left inside it. The Quarter Knights would retrieve the three pieces of her heart that were sealed away by the self-sacrificing Guardians, and with the Tear Drop they would mend her and revive her.

"Mother," he whispered. He could almost trick himself into thinking he saw a smile form under the cocoon.


	9. The Forgotten

_Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story._

_This'll be my last update for God knows how long. I'm so sorry! This year I will be swamped with the evils and pains of Student Teaching. I will not let this project die, however, I promises. It'll just take me a long time to update it._

Chapter Nine: The Forgotten

The weather had gotten progressively colder the further north they went. As night fell, it became so cold that Cecilia had taken to holding her arms and picking up her pace in order to stop shivering. Eventually Jack took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders. The cloak was so big and she so short that the ends nearly dragged across the ground.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" he asked her with a tinge of annoyance. Half of the sky was pitch black, while the other was washed in a hazy blue with orange and pink. He was worried that it would become pitch black before they could find their way to a safe place for the night.

Cecilia still clutched the three stone tablets in her hand with determination. "I'm sure."

"Right."

Jack hadn't felt this agitated since someone had tried to cheat him his money on a job near Rosetta. The memories he had been forced to remember in the Guardian Temple were sharper than he thought they used to be; in a way, he was grateful for it, for it reminded him of the revenge he was so desperate to obtain from the Demons. His two young companions didn't know of his past, and he preferred it that way. Although Hanpan knew the rough sketch of what happened, Jack knew the wind mouse wouldn't approach him about what they had seen. He did not want to talk about what happened, for it meant admitting all over again how he had failed.

"I see it," Rudy said after a long silence.

Cecilia and Jack scanned the horizon in the direction Rudy was pointing. They could see insignificant lights blazing on the otherwise black horizon. What looked like small pyramids were silhouetted against the night.

"That must be it." Cecilia picked up her pace and marched ahead of Rudy.

"Better than nothing," Jack said dully, motioning to Rudy to pick up speed.

Before night had completely fallen, the three of them reached the outskirts of the village. There were men there waiting for them, holding long spears against the ground, bracing the strangers from the settlement.

"Hey," Jack said roughly, "you might be expecting us, our Guardian friends sent us over—"

One of the men with spears brandished the weapon at Jack as he stepped closer. He shouted something sharply in a foreign language.

"Whoa, now," Jack said, holding his hands out and backing away.

The man shouted again, and the other sentries closed in on the three of them.

"Jack!" Hanpan called quietly from inside his jacket. "Jack! He's telling you to surrender!"

"What? How do you know?" Jack asked inconspicuously, whispering under his breath while holding his hands higher in the air.

"They're speaking a language I recognize. I think we're in Baskar."

The men in front of Jack continued to brandish their weapons and talk in their tongue. Cecilia stood behind Jack, using him as a surrogate shield. "Do you know what's going on, Hanpan?"

"They're discussing us," Hanpan replied. "I think they suspect us of something..."

Jack reached for his sword in order to draw it and lay it on the ground. As soon as his hand touched the handle, however, all three men were upon him, yelling more fervently and rashly than before.

"Okay, _okay_, sorry," Jack said, raising his hands back in the air. He opted instead for lowering himself onto his knees. "Is this surrender enough for them, Hanpan?" Jack asked acidly.

"They might get the message."

"_Might_?"

Cecilia and Rudy mimicked Jack's actions. The three men seemed to calm down to an extent. They muttered amongst each other, still holding their weapons at the ready to attack the strangers should they make any rash moves.

"Hanpan, can't you just talk to them?" Jack whispered under his breath.

"I don't know what kind of a stir that'd cause, so no. I'd rather stay safe in here, if that's okay with you."

"Oh, thanks. Thanks for leaving us high and dry."

Cecilia lifted her hand in the air and waved it, drawing the attention of the men. One of them hissed something to her that did not sound friendly, but she knew it didn't matter once she showed them what she held.

"C., what're you doing?" Jack asked accusingly.

Cecilia held out her hand towards the other men, then opened it to show them the three small tablets she held.

The man in front circled around them to Cecilia. He grabbed her hand rather roughly, peering down at her hand through the dark. He called over the other man who had a torch handy, then used the light to inspect the tablets further. She watched their faces slowly turn to stone.

"C., _what are you doing_?" Jack asked, barely daring to look over his shoulder at her to see what was going on.

The first man suddenly stepped in front of Jack, pointing the spear head in his face and shouting something abrasive.

"What'd he say?" Jack asked.

"He wants you to follow him."

Jack slowly got up onto his knees, and Rudy and Cecilia followed. The other two men moved in behind them, each training their weapons on the newcomers to urge them forward. It was pitch black out, but by the firelight just inside the village, the three of them could see groups of people, dressed in thick animal hides, huddled together, watching them.

They were led through the dark to the tallest building in the settlement. It looked as if more care and precision went into its construction, and it also appeared to be the hub of the village. There were stacks of wood piled up around the walls, along with barrels and sacks filled with food and water. Two of the guards moved to flank the door, and one of them knocked on it. They stood there in the cold for a moment before someone moved to open the door. There was a fire from inside the immediate room, and a small person was silhouetted in the doorway. The shadow shrunk away, and the guard from behind ushered them forward.

The building they were in was composed of one expansive room. It looked as if it were a barracks or a shelter for multiple people. In the corner where the fire was, a tired looking man sat on the ground next to a large, white fluffy dog that looked to be the same size as him.

The guards herded the trio towards the fire by the man. When they stopped, one of the guards motioned to Jack and said something.

"What?" Jack asked.

"He wants you to sit down," Hanpan said indignantly.

The three of them sat at the fire, each looking around nervously. The guard then turned to the tired looking man and said something long and lengthy. He motioned to Cecilia once, then paused and spoke slowly. The tired man looked to Cecilia, then slowly nodded and muttered something to the guard. The guards then left the room, and a small man—likely the one who had been the shadow in the doorway when they first arrived—closed the door behind them.

Rudy, Jack and Cecilia had turned their heads towards the door where the guards had disappeared. The tired man said something quietly, and all three of them turned back to him.

"He said he assumes you can understand him, since you seemed to understand the guards," Hanpan whispered.

"Oh," Jack muttered, then shook his head to the tired man. Both of them just sat there, staring at each other.

"He's probably not going to understand what you mean by shaking your head," Hanpan offered after a pause.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Jack said, turning his head down to his pocket. "We can't exactly communicate, especially if you're not gonna come out and translate."

"Oh—fine!" Hanpan squeaked angrily. He jumped out of Jack's pocket and onto his shoulder, facing the tired man. Everything was still for a second until he bowed his head toward Hanpan and muttered something else.

"He's showing respect for a Child of Zephyr," Hanpan translated.

"'Child of Zephyr'?" Cecilia repeated. "Is that what you are, Hanpan?"

"To them I am, I guess," he replied. Then he continued to speak to the tired man in a comical interpretation of the foreign language; his voice was so squeaky and high pitched that Jack was certain the tired man wouldn't be able to take Hanpan seriously.

"I just told him how we got here," Hanpan told the others. They watched as the tired man's face seemed to become more fatigued; he swayed backwards slightly, then leaned forward on his elbows. He motioned for the small man to come to his side, and the latter brought a jug of water for the tired man. He splashed his face a few times, then motioned for the small man to put the jug down for the dog to drink.

Then the tired man began a long monologue to Hanpan, and Hanpan translated as he spoke.

"I've known of this day since I was young, back when I had a name. We knew the Guardians would send for three warriors, and we also knew it meant that the Mother's threat loomed over our home again. If you are here, Brave Ones, then this is a very critical time.

"Our people have lived in isolation from the world for so long that we have little to give but what was made with our own hands. It has been our knowledge for years that it would be our duty to assist the Innocent One when she arrived, but I'm afraid our resources are limited in comparison to what has already been given to you. However, what I can offer is knowledge, although I do not pretend to hold more knowledge than you, Child of Zephyr."

After Hanpan finished translating to them, he replied back to the tired man in his language. "I told him any help would be appreciated, considering we don't know where to go or what to do."

"Would he know about what the Guardians told us?" Cecilia asked. "About what's to the north?"

"He seemed to understand what I was talking about."

The tired man started to talk again, moving his hands vigorously (or as vigorously as a tired looking man could). He finished by pointing a finger to the wall, looking grave.

"Well?" Jack asked, "what did he say?"

"The Guardians sealed a piece of Mother's 'Heart' here a thousand years ago, and its kept at the top of Mount Zenom," Hanpan answered. "If we can get to that seal and keep the Demons from getting at it first, then we can prevent Mother from being revived."

"We just... destroy it before they can, or something?" Jack asked.

"That's optimal," Hanpan replied.

"We need to hurry then," Cecilia said urgently. "They're likely already there!"

Jack rested his chin on his hand. "We can't go there by night; we'll get lost in the dark."

Cecilia made a noise of protest and stood up abruptly, pacing around the room. The tired man muttered something, and Hanpan relayed: "Keep calm, Cecilia. We'll do what we can with what we've got."

The tired man then said something to the smaller man in the room. He came around to the elder's side and listened to what he had to say. The small man then stood and addressed Hanpan.

"He said we should eat and sleep here tonight, and in the morning three of their strongest will take us to Mount Zenom."

"I guess we've gotta accept," Jack said.

* * *

It turned out that their arrival caused quite a stir in the village; everyone was just preparing for sleep when they came out of the darkness. Most of the inhabitants had gathered around the large building where the three of them rested and muttered incessantly amongst each other. Hanpan told his friends that it was suggested through their conversations that their arrival was part of a prophecy that was hundreds of years old, but some others gave light on their appearance was an unavoidable omen.

The small man had to fight his way through the crowd of people who had gathered at the front of the building in order to get a look at the strangely dressed strangers with skin the colour of bones. When he came back, he gave them bread and meat, along with oddly shaped sacks with elongated mouth pieces on top. It took them a conscious effort to learn that there was water in the pouches and an even bigger effort to learn how to drink from them. Hanpan shared Jack's plate, laughing at the man every time water dribbled down his chin.

After they were finished, they watched the small man help the tired man to a bed across the room. The tired man didn't look that old, but he certainly moved like he was. Even the dog walked across the room with him for support.

"He's somethin', isn't he?" Jack muttered. "Doesn't even know his name."

"The people of Baskar don't keep one name their entire life," Hanpan said. "It changes as they change. They also aren't as important to them to remember as it is for you or me."

"Hanpan... how do you know all that? I mean, their language, religion, whatever?" Jack asked.

"I've been around," Hanpan said simply.

The small man came back to them and offered a little bow before he spoke. His voice was high-pitched and watery, as if he were extremely nervous.

"He said we should call it a night now. The sun'll be up before we can get enough rest."

"I can't sleep," Cecilia said shortly. The small man shrunk away timidly, settling on a bed near the tired man's.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Jack said, lying down on his bed and fluffing up the head of the tic where a pillow should have been. "Just get some shut eye and we can give 'em hell tomorrow."

Rudy moved over to her bed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Cecilia. It's fine, it's okay."

Cecilia slowly started to unwind; she relaxed her shoulders and closed her eyes before nodding slightly. Rudy went back to his bed once he was sure she had calmed down, then started to get ready for sleep.

"Good. Tomorrow we can get up as soon as the sun rises and head out for the mountain, if it makes you feel better." Jack looked over his shoulder at Cecilia.

She nodded. "It would."

Jack and Rudy seemed to fall asleep instantly after that, but Cecilia stayed awake and watched the fire slowly die down, her mind racing with too many unpleasant thoughts. If they had already failed in protecting the seal, then she would have failed everyone—the Guardians, the world, and even her father.

"I will," she muttered quietly to herself. Her chin quivered and her eyes burned, but she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep before the tears could find a chance to fall.

* * *

She was in the place between waking and sleeping; the room was pitch black, save for a bit of firelight that was spilling into the room from the outside. Cecilia was aware of the thin ribbon of smoke that coiled up from the embers of the dead fire in the corner of the room, slowly floating up to the sky through the hole in the roof...

Something soft and gentle touched her arm, and it took her an eternity to turn her head and see what it was. The tired man was standing at her bedside; she thought she could see him smiling in the dim light.

"Father?" she muttered. _No, he's not my father. Why did I say that?_

"Hush, Innocent One, you'll wake yourself up," the tired man replied.

She frowned in confusion, staring at him groggily as her tired man tried to process what she was witnessing at a painfully slow pace. "You can speak my language?" she asked. She suddenly realized that she hadn't spoken out loud.

"No, this isn't tongues we're speaking in. This is how souls speak to each other; there are no words, only feelings to read."

Cecilia decided that this was a dream. And if this was a dream, this was herself she was talking to. And to herself she could confide in.

"I always wanted a normal life," she admitted to the tired man. "And for a while I had a taste of it, when I could pretend I wasn't me. That I wasn't the princess. But then I became something else that I couldn't escape from."

"It is only natural that you feel guilt for what has happened," the tired man said to her. It dawned on her that he wasn't moving his lips when she only saw his smile broaden as he spoke to her. "But you must realize that without a conflict, there would be no need for battles. Without conflict, there would be no need for an Innocent One. You were blessed with your destiny by the hands of those who wish to destroy us."

"Why?" Cecilia asked, her heart welling with sorrow. "Why me? Why us?"

"There's is not a happy tale, either" the tired man said, bowing his head. "The Demons are like any soul, trying to hang on to life. But life is not earned by want alone. We all have to fight for it. And when the Demons first came to this land and gave us a reason to fight for our life, our world banded together. Three different races shared bonds and pacts in order to smite the Demons in their path of destruction. And one thousand years ago, the Guardians shared a pact with the queen of one of the human kingdoms. The pact has never been broken."

Cecilia didn't move or speak. The tired man only smiled down at her again. "That is why this has happened to us. And to you."

She thought about how selfish she must have been, only concerned with her misfortunes. The tired man shook his head. "It is not selfish, Innocent One. One cannot always see the path that lay before them if there is no one there to hold the light."

He let go of her arm and seemed to glide away from the bed back towards his own. She strained her eyes to see him in the dark, but she fell asleep almost as soon as he disappeared from view.


End file.
